Infinite Stratos: REWIND
by IrateWritreviewer
Summary: How can one succumb to fate? How can one lose everything at birth? How can one survive when time moves fast and leaving you behind? One man desperately tries to take it all back, with his new IS. But how would he stand against the memories of the past, even with a ghost and His power residing within? OC alert and Teen rating just in case. First fanfic read and review :) Slight AU
1. Prologue Fateful Ends, New Beginnings

"_Any student who is here taking the final exam, make your way to the auditorium! Any one caught outside will be unable to take the exam and well get an automatic zero! Last call!" The squeaking of doors, footsteps, murmurs and a lock being turned was heard throughout the halls as one black-haired boy, tattered and dirty, was rushing in vain to reach the entrance exam hall._

_Panting and short heavy breaths were escaping him as he approached the door and banged his red sweaty palms on the door hard and pleaded with the top of his voice to let him in, but to no avail. After minutes (or what seemed like hours), his injured legs gave way and sulked to the ground, with tears flowing from the boy's eyes._

"_W-why…?" he sobbed with grimy tears streaming down his face. "Why didn't t-they push me a-around __**hic…**__ at a d-day l-like this…?"Painful, yet distant memories flashed in his head, like little screws twisting into his brain, of girls thrashing insults. Teenage girls have become a major pain in the boy's life, spewing insults to his face, kicking him around in the dirt, the works._

_The boy then drew his lucky golden pocket watch. It was a gift to him from…who knows, but he kept it as if it's his lucky charm. It read 9:55 am, and he slammed his head on the ground. It was only five minutes before exam time, and they locked him out of the exam room. The boy cringed with fear and hate, and was howling silently with sadness and tears flowing out, until a little voice echoed in his mind:_

"_**Come…"**_

_The boy opened his eyes from noticing the voice. "Who said that…?" was what left the boy's mouth, and suddenly saw two black shadows of feet in front of him. The boy, out of disbelief, surprise and hope (for someone who can let him in the exam hall, however that was not the case), sadly saw no one there. He looked left and right, wondering where the shadow went, but heard the distant voice again._

"_**Come… face me…"**_

"_Where are you…?" The boy said to the voice, though no one was there to answer. But he had a good sense of hearing, being able to detect the voice from across the halls on his right. His chest felt a little tug when he was going down that direction, and continued on his way. As he walked, the boy felt the tugging to be stronger, and the voice getting louder._

"_**Do you have any wits, boy…?"**_

"…" _He hesitated, while gripping his sweat-drenched fists and stopping on his tracks. But then continued on forward, with no answer._

"_**Or… have you acquired the strength, boy…?**_

"…" _His eye quivered by the sound of the question reaching into his head. He shook his head and kept walking, until he stopped in front of a lone door on the wall, out of place of the school. A sign hangs on the wall, fixated by a nail. A dark aura presides around the area, as if to tell the boy to turn back._

"_**If you don't possess wits and strength…then what do you have…? Courage…?"**_

"_!" The boy stopped on his tracks, eyes widened and hesitant. Does he have courage? He trembled his limbs and sweat pouring down. "I-I…" the boy muttered in his breath. His legs nearly gave way until the voice talked again:_

"_**If you wish to obtain my power and your dreams… then show me your courage. I'll be waiting behind the door… but time won't wait for you…"**_

_The boy gulped hard, and took his steps lightly. His heart pounded like it was going to rip out of his chest and explode. But he closed his eyes and kept walking, and soon enough, he was at the door. His hand trembled at the doorknob, but it took most of his strength to open the brass knob to encounter what seems to be one of his nightmare coming true._

"_Careful with those cores, Mia!" was an order from an official wearing a sergeant's uniform and clipboard, while dozens of female workers were dragging robotic IS machines to what looks like dozens of supply planes. He was scared of females when the world of IS (or Infinite Stratos) was introduced into the world and gender dominance was tilted towards the wrong direction. It wasn't just the female bullies that frighten him. It was all the females, ranging from the bus drivers, the rich women who order men around and worst of all, the task forces that utilize IS. Very few of them are followers of conduct, but almost all of them go against the rights of humans and destroy and pillage for what they want, even if it's by blood._

_The boy was drowned in familiar memories of when his family disowned him because they wanted a daughter; one that can at least use an IS. They thought he could only be a good househusband, or a servant of their famous lineage, but he's not anyone who can raise their morale or their pride. No one loved him in his family, and no one would take him anymore. Not his mother, his father, his twin sister, not anyone… except her older sister, but that memory was excruciating… He hated them, but held it in. He didn't want to mess with a prestigious family, but it made him feel weak._

_**Stay strong…**_

_The boy opened his eyes and, in desperation and gleam, caught his attention to one particular IS. The mechanical body had the appearance of a golden armour and black leather with gauntlets and fabrics so luscious and mysterious that no human can comprehend. The boy started to walk towards the IS sitting alone in the center of the room, while task force officers from one end were loading the same grey IS into the plane. He didn't care, only walking slowly towards the mesmerizing IS._

"_Hey Captain! What's this kid doing here?" One female worker yelled as she caught sight of him. The boy didn't falter in his looks and kept walking, as if hypnotized._

"_What's a kid doing here? Didn't he see the sign?" The captain muttered to herself, as she started to run towards the boy. When she approached him, she bonked her clipboard on his head trying to get his attention. "Hey kid. What are you doing in a place like this?" The boy didn't listen, eyes unfocused from the IS._

_**Yes… come closer…**_

_As the kid got closer, he noticed the fine details of energy veins in the legs and arms. On its left arm was a round shield in the shape of a gear; with what looks like a handle stuck on top of the shield. When he inspected closer, he noticed the veins on the left arm were shaped in chains. The joints of the IS looked as though they were golden gears attached, as if they were clogs working in a watch or clock. The wings on the IS were large, and looked very… aether. The wings had 2 large halves of a gear attacked to his back with long pointed winglets attached. The feel and familiarity of the structure of the IS… it felt as though they belonged to a more futuristic time period. The plaque written on his helmet said "Chronos". His head ringed a little when he voiced the name in his head. Where did he hear that name…or when did he?_

"_Umm kid? Hello?" The captain was waving her hand and shaking his shoulder vigorously, but still not getting his attention. This kid is a tough one to break. She tried another method of yelling in his ear, but it still does nothing. Many of the co-workers caught the attention of the captain belting out her voice, and started to whisper what was going on, which halted the loading process._

"_Seriously, what's a male doing here?" One of the co-workers whispered._

"_I don't know. Did he get lost?" Another replied in near silence._

"_Heh, maybe he just got lost after searching for his mommy~!" A third obnoxious one said out loud, and all the co-workers went all-out laughter on the poor boy, filling the workstation. The boy gripped his fist and furrowed his eyebrows, but showed no sign of chickening out._

_**Pitiful creatures… show them what you are made of…!**_

"_Yes…" He muttered and reached out his hand to touch the metallic exoskeleton. The voice boomed inside the boy's head, yet none of the females can hear it, nor hear the boy muttering. They were too busy laughing at the poor tattered boy when all of a sudden; a massive glow and tremor engulfed the workstation. The laughter stopped immediately to only be replaced by screams of dread and gasps of awe, even with the captain covering her mouth with her hands, but still very shocked by the outcome, when they looked at the boy disappearing in the light. The light grew even more vibrant and the tremor got even worse as a few models of grey IS flew backwards and even one of the planes tipping over on its side due to the tremors. After the glow, all the officers and workers see is an IS, with wings of aether-like gold and armor of the densest steel. The women working there were mostly in awe of the pilot. A man? One single man, with lush golden hair, replacing the natural black colour, and yellow eyes, that can operate an IS?_

"_Impossible…how?" was one voice, heard at the balcony. Everyone, except the boy turned to the fierce-looking woman up at the balcony, in total shock. Her serious eyes were widened from surprise, and sweat drooped down from her forehead slowly. She was wearing heels, a black suit with a tie and had long black hair, but they were trembling, along with her cold shaky limbs. Immediately after a few seconds, she ran down the long stairs and ran towards the male pilot, only to be in complete shock when she made out the identity._

"_I-Ichika…Orimura?" was all she can sputter out of her gaping mouth as she took a step back from the second surprise. The boy then looked at the woman, with empty eyes then closed his._

"_Orimura-san! What's going on?" Two captains rushed over to the fierce woman standing in shock to consul her, but ended up having the same expression as them as they saw the figure standing in front of them. By that time, the boy opened his eyes towards them, but not with the reaction of what they hoped._

"_C-Chifuyu-nee… why…?" a meek desperate voice came out of the boy, and started to shake his head, from a very slow speed, but gradually getting faster to the point of desperation. He put his hands between his head and kept shaking, as if struggling to get something off of him. "No… Chifuyu-nee…!" The elder sister looked at him in fear, but gripped her fists in anger as soon as he said those words._

"_Take him out…" is what the woman muttered. The captains gasped and looked at the sister in shock._

"_But…Commander…!"_

"_I SAID, DO IT!" She yelled at her with a detestable tone. Soon, four security women with IS's and katanas arrived through hovering and surrounded the boy in a square, as he was finally calming down and holding his forehead from the pain he had to absorb. The commander then ordered "TAKE HIM OUT!" in a harsh and commanding tone, and the IS security, still in disbelief, but in devotion of their commander, then dived towards him and slammed their swords at the boy, but in vain._

"_**Me…? Taken out…? Not today…and not ever…!"**_

_When the swords slammed, the boy ducked down and immediately used what equipment he had, as if he was a high-ranking officer in the military. His left gauntlet, completely covered in golden-plated armour, crossed in front of his head and blocked the left, front-most katana from connecting, while the right one cross his head to block the right, front-most one. The two wings had minds of their own, bringing themselves to parry the two katanas behind him. The workers gasped again, and even the captains were gasping at the sight of him guarding the attacks for the first time, as if it was first nature to him. Suddenly, a different voice came out of the boy. Instead of a meek and distinct voice, a deeper, yet more threatening and deadlier voice was heard._

"_**The ones who retracts their IS and moves out of the way for more than 2 seconds…DIES!"**_

_His threatening voice felt like chills of the ethereal. The IS security responded with a nasty flinch, disabling their IS and backing away at a far distance even faster than 1 second. The boy returned to his original standing position, and had a serious glint in his eyes, as if he was someone completely different. The workers were scared out of their wits, trembling their legs with fear, and even having a worker faint. The captains readied their handguns, awaiting the next attacking maneuver, but they also had their limbs trembling. Lastly, their sister was in shock and fear when she saw the moves the boy had. She was astounded, but at the same time, terrified. "I-Ichika…" Her fear, yet her anger was present, responded to the boy in the IS. "Why?! Why are you here?!"_

**"**_**Ichika? Who's he?"** He questioned the lady and grasped the handle on his shield. He unscrewed it and out lit up a beam saber, almost made entirely of light. Everyone gasped again and another worker fainted. **"Hahaha… why bother if you don't care…?"**_

"_W-Wha-?!" The woman said, before she got cut off and was forcefully kicked towards the ground. 2 captains ran to her aid as they helped her up. "Ichika! How could you…?!" The woman was gritting her teeth and had blood dripping out of her fists, and had eyes filled to the brim of hatred of the past. The bruise on her suit was clawed off, revealing her stomach area._

**"**_**Don't spout your lies to me!"** He pointed the saber towards the suited woman and the captains. They flinched with much fear. **"The weak man's no more! My name is Dyne Tempo! And time won't wait for you!"** He made a smug-like smile on his face and turned to the outdoor side. He spread out his wings and lifted off, taking to the skies with much grace. Everyone didn't know where to start pondering, but they do know one thing; his presence will shake the world, and the change of history's fateful weave will inevitably occur._

* * *

**Oh hello there! Welcome and thank you for reading my first ****fan fiction! The name's Irate, and if this gets reviewed and criticized (not like tearing this story a new asshole, but whatever), I'll continue creating more entries! :D**

**Anyway... to explain what's happening: it's what happens to Ichika if he had a more...sorrowful past and rejection from his family. I guess it's to show how fragile the world and life really is.**

**Anyway, Infinite Stratos does not belong to me. Not the characters, not the setting, not anything, except the OC introduced and replacing the old main character.**


	2. Chapter 1 The Wandering Mind

**Hello again, fellow readers! Irate here with another chapter! And I'm sorry if this is absolutely LONG! I promise that I'll make shorter updates, but for the meantime Enjoy this story!**

**But first, some things I have to tell you! Yes, this story is dark, much more darker than the original anime. The purpose is to make the story more plot-heavy and darker than it should be. It has more action, less smiles and a much different backstory behind all of this. Actually, to tell you guys the truth, this story and how the OC acts is based on the backstory.**

* * *

_**Past: **_**8:23AM April 4****th**** 2032, Gotanda Residence, 5 days after the discovery of _Chronos…_**

_**The day I part ways with my old life: my home, my best friend, and my hellhole school.**_

"_Hey man…" Dan looked at me, with a smiling face. "I hope things go well in the academy, alright?" He patted his hand on my shoulder. I was feeling a sense of sadness and couldn't hold back my tears, yet an amphora of his confidence was flooding into me._

"_I-I'll write back! I promise!" I promised to Dan. My beat friend since that fateful day of middle school… we shared all the joys and promises together, along with his sister Ran, who is right beside Dan sobbing. We played video games, watched movies, grieved together… and now we're parting ways, because of inevitable fate._

"_Hehe, I'll be sure to reply then, Ichi-! No… Dyne!" He gave me a reassuring smile. It warmed my heart up from just that smile and I knew we would be inseparable, even though we are being separated._

"_Then I g-guess I'll see you later… Gotanda Dan!" I was about to offer him a handshake, but instead he gave me a tight hug. I felt the "everything's gonna be alright" aura around him. It was nice to have at least one person to be looked after…_

_**sniff**__ "Ichika…" Ran muttered, while she was wiping tears with a handkerchief I gave her before I set off. I let go of Dan, gave a long sigh, and lowered my head. From the way she's acting now, there was no way I could give in to her little… 'act'. Even though she was mean to her brother and me and was never a rescuer from the female bullies to him and me when we were younger, my body did the talking and gave her a tight hug. She was first surprised but then she wrapped her arms in response._

"_Umm, Orimura-kun?" A voice behind me called. Oh right, I forgot! The limo and their drivers were waiting for me here, just to deliver me to the Academy for my first day. I let my grasp go and turned towards the limo._

"_I guess I gotta go now…" My last spoken words to Dan and Ran left my mouth and I walked to the limousine and went inside. The driver got into the driver seat and drove away. I saw the house I lived in for 3 years, and the best friend I have made for a long time was shrinking until there was nothing left…_

…_Hm? Best friend? Who didn't count? It was Ran, and she wasn't really a…friend. She was mostly the opposite. I remembered the echoing voices of the past cycling in my brain. She just stood there when female bullies were bullying around Dan and I. The truth is… I never saw the feeling of worry in her face. It looked like… pride and deceit… and that's when I realized…_

_That I was being way too nice to her…and that she was doing the same to me…_

_**Present: **_**9:45AM April 4****th****, at Rail Train 5, going towards destination**

_**The relaxation can't keep me for very long… Why can't anyone help me feel more comfortable?**_

The ride wasn't too long, but it felt slow for me. The dashing blue sky that was flying past me… the clouds ever being free… I was envious when I was looking out the window of my seat in the moving rail train. I took a look at my pocket watch… 9:45AM… wasn't too bad. But the presence here made me shiver; when I first arrived, I had stares left and right from girls that were also going into the Academy. I felt like a walking peanut gallery, as the awkwardness grew when I entered the sector, where the entrance of the train was.

"Who's that guy? What's he doing in THAT uniform?" One of the whispers silently passed.

"Isn't he the first male IS user in the world? He looks so…" Another whisper.

"He looks kind of dashing~." A third.

"He looks kind of stupid…" A fourth.

"Like, oh my god… he's like all the other men. So dorky… and he looks like he's a coward too…" A fifth, sixth and seventh…

"But…I heard a rumour that this man is the legendary Orimura Chifuyu's hated brother…" I gripped my fist.

"Really? Then he really must be a total wimp…!" Ugh… stop, please…

I gave a sigh. The awkwardness levels were too high to listen to anymore. I just felt too tuckered out. But it wasn't just that. My hair grew to unfathomable lengths and changed into a smooth (yet still unfathomable) gold colour (cut shorter to match the length I used to have before). My eyes turned into a golden yellow glow, and I can see a glint of shine in them when I look into the mirror, although they did say that my eyes change to a blood red when they see me enraged. Lastly, they say I have a split personality disorder, though they never recorded it. I didn't really mind it though, I never remembered going on a tantrum. I laid my elbow on the meal desk in front of me and it held my head while I looked outside, gazing on outside beauty.

"Is something wrong, master?" A voice popped out of thin air, although it wasn't surprising. I opened up my pocket watch and out came a cloud of data, which formed a little mechanical sprite, with the size of two pigeons with their wings spread out. It had the same wings as my IS five days ago, except smaller, a head with digital eyes and a hat with embroidered gear design and stripes, a skinny golden neck, and a body, which held many things (there was a weapon disabler, a sparkplug, an electromagnet and a small pulley, but I don't know what else is held in there).

"It's nothing you should be concerned about, Chrono…" I whispered back, not wanting to make it awkward to the other passengers that I'm talking to a floating toy. Chrono, believe it or not, is part of my IS, except having a personality of its own and also including its chibi form presented. Ever since I met her, she was the first girl who has always listened to every word he was trying to get across to. But since I, myself, was her…master, it didn't feel as heart-mending as I would have expected it to be… But she does make a nice stickler on my side…

"Okay, master (n_n)," she voiced to me while immediately making that expression on her digital eyes, indication that she is happy. "As long as my master is fine, then I'm fine too~!" She bounced up and down for joy as I smiled too. It feels like she's my 'non-existent' close friend, but it still feels nice to have Chrono beside me.

As the train finally reached its destination with a smooth halt, the doors opened, indicating the exit door and leading to hell incarnate. I slowly got up to grab my luggage and Chrono materialized back into the pocket watch, while the rest of the girls getting up quickly and grabbing their materials. As I walked out amongst the crowd of girls, I looked at my pocket watch with the lid closed and clenched it on my palm.

"This is gonna be a rough semester, and time won't let me be…" I warned myself in my thoughts, feeling the depression within me. Floods of stares were making the moment even more awkward than depressing.

_**Later: **_**9:55AM April 4****th****, Classroom 1-1**

_**I can't stand it here… I want to run… but I don't know where I should go… Everyone's staring… it feels so… awkward… and yet… scary…**_

It was a bad idea to come early … I already hate this place… Not because of the room itself, mind you! I was sitting on a lone desk, on the middle of the classroom. It had metal floorboards and ceiling. The chrome desks and chairs weren't surprising either. In front of me was a chalkboard, black as it can be. Felt like staring into the abyss.

But my heart kept stopping when I saw what was on my right (and the reason on why I hate this place). A flood of girl's faces, that's what. I can tell there were at least a hundred outside, trying to see the 3 main attractions: me, myself and I. I saw many types of faces, making them the judges of what they think of me. I see some faces in awe, in frowns, in shocks, in disappointment, and many more, but all of them yelling out muffled comments to each other. Yet it only makes me feel even worse even if they knew me better.

The silence broke off with the opening of a sliding door. I looked at that direction to only see a person in front of the door for a split second. It was a short woman, who had short green hair and glasses, but before I got a good scan of her…

**RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE**

"STAMPEDE!" I thought as I saw dozens of innocent girls ran up to me, begging to ask questions about God-knows-what. Immediately, I stepped out of my seat and was cornered at the wall of windows on the left in fear and surprise, immediately bombarded with questions, comments, splurge and the like. The girls of the IS academy… so that's why Dan warned me of this, but I never thought it was THIS bad…!

"Hey mister! What's your name?"

"Are you really the first man to wield an IS?"

"You look so dashing~!"

"Why the hell do you look like a wimp?"

"Aren't you that exiled brother of the Chifuyu Orimura?"

"Whoa! What made you get exiled? I feel so sorry for you…!"

"He looks like a loser! Look at him shaking!"

"Hey, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Ummm EVERYONE! CLASSES HAVE STARTED!" yelled a timid voice at the back of the room. Everyone looked to see the huffing teacher, but this time she had her books scattered to the floor and, by the looks of it, was trampled on the floor. She luckily got up and halted everyone just in time, before they got too close to me and… well, I rather not go from there. I walked around the crowd of girls to help the poor lady up, and on that note, got a closer look from there. She has a yellow blouse and stockings with heels (which is incredibly unlike for a teacher in this school), but having small smudges of dirt and minor tears here and there.

"Are you all right?" I asked, wondering if she had survived the stampede.

"Y-Yes..." She blushed as I took her hand, and I smiled in response. But many… umm… groans came from behind, as I saw some faces looking rather grim in emotion.

"No way… "

"Is he doing what I think he's doing?"

"I never thought that wimp was into older women!"

"It's the breasts… never knew he was such a perv…"

Ugh… it made me grimace in embarrassment. Well, at least the teacher (I think) smiled and giggled from the reaction behind me. "Ehehe~, t-thanks anyway, sir."

"Uh, n-no problem ma'am!" I nodded with haste. But as soon as I said that, I felt a dark lurking aura, and a shadow creeping at the walls of the class. I rather not go there as well…

"So… what are all of you moronic dunces doing in my classroom?" A voice of a stern, yet familiar woman with a suit and tie and long black hair came into the scene and… you can't be serious.

"Kyaaaaaaaaa! IT'S CHIFUYU-ONEESAMA!" The first-year girls all cried when they saw my used-to-be sister standing in the doorway, and they all screamed and cringed with delight. I thought one of the girls was going to explode.

"Sigh… why do they always give me all the idiots…?" She grimaced with embarrassment, but all that embarrassment disappeared when she saw my eyes and that feeling was replaced with bitterness and hatred. "Y-you… of all people…!" She started to screech.

"Y-you again…?!" I was shocked and mentally scared of her angry face, from when I was a child to even here. But this time was the scariest moment of anger I've ever seen from her, because out of nowhere, a materializing katana was appearing out of nowhere in her hand.

"WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST DIE?!" She screamed, as she now swung the fully materialized katana at me over her head with all of her strength. The glare that she shot me felt as though it stung the very bottom of my soul. My composure and mind were being shattered as I closed my eyes tight, flinching from my inevitable death…

**CLASH**

…W-What? What happened…?

"P-partial materialization…? At an age s-so young…" The green-haired teacher commented in awe, as I started to open my eyes. What I saw was that the gear shield from _Chronos_ formed from just my forearm (out of instinct…?), and flawlessly blocked Chifuyu's deadly strike from her katana. The girls were shocked and … swooned (?)… just from the display that I showed to Chifuyu, who's glare turned from hatred to absolute shock and dread.

"Isn't it time we just started class without anyone getting hurt…?" I meekly asked without any confidence. Somehow I didn't think they would follow up with some of the girls walking out of the classroom, and the rest sitting on their seats. Even some girls were waiting outside for the ruckus to end to enter in. One girl in particular caught my interest. Long black hair, a ribbon to make a ponytail, and a serious look… she's an old timeless friend I haven't seen in a while… after a second of catching her in sight, she caught me and stared back. I thought it felt like forever since I stared at her, and she has grown too. I smiled at her, but she only widened her eyes and looked away in embarrassment. Does Shinonono… remember me?

"Hey…" I was nudged on the shoulder to only see another death glare from the dreaded Chifuyu, giving the meanest frown I've even seen while retaining her own composure. "If you want to live another day, take a seat so we can get this over with…" I did not hesitate for a split second, not with that demonic glare…

**Houki's POV**

Sigh… having to go to the IS Academy, because I'm sisters with the greatest scientist of all time… 'Greatest' scientist, my ass. Humph… I made a little pout when I sat on my desk. It was at the far side, where all the windows are. I gave a thought about the stare that man gave me… it felt like nostalgia when I stared at him… Was that… man in our classroom… Ichika?

_**Past: **_**3:56PM May 26****th**** 2022, Ten years ago, in a lone elementary school…**

"_Har! He looks so stupid!" One beefy boy with a red shirt teased as he was grabbing the arm of a beaten boy dangling in the air. He had bruises around his skin, and a bloody nose running._

"_Heh-yeah! That's what you get fer not havin' your lunch money fer us!" Another beefy boy in a black shirt said, looking much scarier than the red shirt boy. Honestly these boys are the pinnacle of annoying and stupid, hurting a poor boy…_

"_S-stop…" The little boy pleaded. The black haired boy… I felt so sorry for him… The black shirt boy then punched him in the gut, making him cough blood._

"_Shut up, you wimp!" The boy snapped at him. I didn't want to see him get hurt anymore. I grabbed my broom and all hell broke loose on them as they were covered in bruises and whacks as they ran home for their mommy. I felt proud of myself, but not before the boy behind me, bloodied on his face and bruised badly, was unconscious. The teacher did not hesitate to call the ambulance._

_**Present:**_** 10:07AM April 4****th**** In Classroom 1-1…**

Yeah… I remember those times so vividly… and yet, is it really him? The eyes and hair colour are different, but by even just looking at him is that I felt his aura of shyness… that hasn't left him yet. I'm still glad he's still the same…

"Next, Orimura!" Yamada-sensei called. I looked at Ichika at the very front row, unmoved. Why isn't he moving? His name is already been called! "Umm, Orimu~?" Yamada called again, this time looking at him, just sitting there like a mindless idiot.

"Hm?" He looked up to see Yamada, staring at him, while the rest of his class was staring behind him, thinking he was dumbfounded. Chifuyu just sighed and said nothing. What's with him today? "M-My name isn't Orimura…" I leaned over to take a closer look, and I thought I saw his fist clenching.

"W-What?" Yamada looked shocked. "B-But my attendance labeled you as Ichika Orimu-!"

"**Don't call me by that accursed name!"** He snapped back, in a loud voice, slamming his palms on his desk. Everything grew silent after he said that line. His voice… was in a different tone… but it didn't sound like him before. It was more threatening and… deeper in pitch…? I felt a dark lingering presence within Ichika… more threatening than Orimura-sensei… When I looked around, everyone seemed to be in shock and fear when they heard him; even Orimura-sensei was in dead shock from just hearing that voice, and Yamada-sensei was shivering. How dare you make girls cry, Ichika…

"Wahh…" Yamada-sensei started to cry a little, shedding tears. She looked too innocent. Immediately that aura of death disappeared, and the aura of shyness immediately came back.

"Augh- Yamada-sensei! I didn't mean to- ugghhh…" Ichika stuttered as he tried to consul, but then stopped himself and grimaced in pain… what's wrong with him?

"Oh, okay." Yamada-sensei cheered up right away, smiling an innocent smile. "So, may you introduce yourself, sir?"

"Y-Yeah…" He nodded, while walking up to the front of the room. What's wrong with him? One moment I see him being the fool I liked 10 years ago, but the next moment he's… actually kind of scary… But I guess a lot has happened after those 10 years. I wonder how much has changed, that Ichik-…

"H-Hello, my name is D-Dyne Tempo, a-and in time, I hope we'll b-be friends…"

…

EEEEHHHHHHHHHHH?!

Dyne… Tempo…? Who!? I thought it was Ichika! Ichika Orimura, my first childhood friend! It has to be him!

**Tempo's POV**

"H-Hello, my name is D-Dyne Tempo, a-and in time, I hope we'll b-be friends…"

"EEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" All the girls screeched, with jaws gaping down and widened dumbfounded eyes looking at me. Houki was one of them. It's as if I've got a nasty blemish on my face.

"Huh? S-Something wrong?" I wondered (mostly in fear) on what they were thinking about me. I then heard whispers and gossip going left and right, as if they were busy bees in their hive. I sighed out most of them and climbed back into my seat.

"Dyne Tempo?"

"Who is this guy?"

"Never heard of him."

"Thought his name is Ichika Orimura…"

"Wasn't he supposed to be Orimura-sensei's brother?"

"No wonder Chifuyu legitimately hates him so much…"

...

... ...

_Ugh... Was it really a good idea to use my illegitimate name…?_

_**Yes. Don't worry, you will show them who's superior soon… But for now, don't fail me…**_

_I won't… you are the one who gave me the strength, wits and courage after all..._

* * *

**Woo! Hello again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry if this one came a little faster than for what I have hoped (or for what you have hoped). **

**Again, Infinite Stratos does not belong to me. NONE OF IT! Only my lovable Dyne and my huggable Chrono is mine. :3**


	3. Chapter 2 Hallow Memories

**_Distant Past:_ 6:43PM March 30th, around 7 hours after flying away into a nearby forest with _Chronos…_**

_Pant… Pant… Pant… Where… Are… We…? A…Forest…? Can't… Keep… Bearings… Headache… Too much… Information… Action… Pumped… With… Within me… Ouuuugh…_

_"Don't fall now, my master~!" A voice… out of nowhere…? Who's cheering me on…? Who…_

**_FLASH_**

_WAUGH! I jumped, seeing a flash of light surprising me out of nowhere, onto the ground. Out came a cloud of… data? It encircled around me as if it was it was attracted. The cloud then released away from my presence and formed a small sprite. It looked as though it was an all-mechanical fairy._

_"Greetings from another realm, master!" The sprite greeted to me in a female humanoid voice, while it made a (n_n) face at me, who was hyperventilating. Master…? I'm… its master?_

_"Umm, what are you?" I asked, still flabbergasted for what it is._

_"I'm your servant, Master Tempo!" She regarded towards herself._

_"Master… Tempo…? Who's Tempo?" I asked, cocking my head to the right. Tempo…? A name… or the music term…?_

_"Silly~, it's you master!" It responded with such… playfulness?_

_"Me?" No. It couldn't be! "I'm Ichika Orimura! Not t-this… this Tempo you spe-!"_

**_"_**_Noo~ you aren't Ichika~!" It mocked me in the tone of a teasing girl._

_"W-What?! What are you talking abo-!?" I was going to lean forward to defend the argument that I was, in fact, Ichika Orimura, (I never seem to do the defending against other people, but a toy is a different story) but when I did, I felt something touch my back and sway around with the wind. "-ooookay, what?" What caught my eye when I turned around was that my hair, which was a short black cut, actually turned into a REALLY long golden brilliant hair. I was in shock when I saw it THIS LONG!_

_"And that's not all~." The sprite opened a mirror in its own compartment on its belly, to show my face. What I saw at the reflection of that man who was staring back at me had the same facial features like me. But what was different was that I had golden eyes that were piercing when looked up close. It even felt mesmerizing like Chronos…_

_"Is that… me…?" I felt as though I couldn't believe who I actually am… Was this the power of the IS…? "Did… Chronos do this to me…?"_

_"Yes! You are now considered its pilot!" The sprite cheerfully bobbed up and down. I thought to myself about what happened back at the loading dock. Did I… gain power? Wits or strength? Anything? I felt nothing when I merged with Chronos. So what did I gain…? Or better yet… what did I lose?_

_"So… what do we do now…?" I said to myself. We're gonna be hunted by the Japanese forces for stealing an IS. And worse, it's a male, so the punishments by law would be far worse than if I were a female. I started to fret a little, but the little sprite nudged me on its side._

_"Don't worry… I'll be here always, master!" I felt a little smile rise when I saw the sprite. It was someone else in the world that cares for me. So we started to walk to one direction of the forest, with the sprite leading the way. I would have taken that it knew the way to a resting spot. But there was one more thing: it was impolite of me to ask now, but I forgot to ask for the sprite's name._

_"Hey… I forgot to ask, but what's your name?"_

_"Chrono is my name~."_

_"Oh… what a nice name."_

_I've felt that feel before… it's like talking to a newfound friend. I couldn't help but raise a smile towards it._

_"So… what should we do when the Japanese officers find us?"_

_"Don't worry, just follow my lead!"_

_"Huh? Where are we going? What are we going to do? What's going to happen to me?"_

_"You ask too many questions! Don't worry, it's nothing bad!"_

_"You sure?"_

_"We'll always know when it's sure or not! Or at least I will~! Ehehe…"_

**_Present:_ 10:21AM April 4th Classroom 1-1, during Yamada-sensei's lecture:**

Yamada-sensei's lecture was kind of slow today… I never thought girls were slow learners… "Okay, after the White Knight incident, the Treaty was made, ensuring-"

" -that IS will never be used for military combat and mutually assured destruction over all other countries, rather settling the battles like the Mondo Grosso tournament. ***yawn***** **" I sped-talked through the rest of her sentence. Yamada-sensei was surprised that I know all this, even in 3 day's time. Chifuyu instead gave me an angry, irritating glare, giving me a '_this isn't your class, so be happy your head is still on your neck_' reading. "I already know all this, Yamada-sensei…"

"Y-Yes, but don't teach or sleep the class, Orimu- er, Tempo-kun!" She nervously requested, as she was still getting used to calling me a name that's not part of the attendance list. I nodded my head with agreement as she went back to explaining.

_"I seriously thought it wouldn't be more boring, but now I preferred it your way, Chrono"_ I said in my thoughts.

_"I understand, master, but you're still learning…" _Chrono told me in my head. It's great that we can talk telepathically in my head where no one can hear it, but again:

_"Isn't there anything else better to do…?"_

_"Why yes… There is another thing I can teach you about my power…" _Chrono cheerfully replied. What does she have in mind?

_"Really… show me how…"_

_"Take hold of your watch, and take a look at your demonic sister, master~."_ I looked at Chifuyu, seeing that she had her eyes closed, and her eyebrows are furrowing. Was she having a painful daydream?_"Now close your eyes… and I'll do the rest for you…"_

**_WOOOOOOSH_**

**_Distant Past:_ 12:24PM April 1st Back in Tokyo City, in the IS Academy meeting room:**

**_Chifuyu's POV_**

_"WHY?! WHY HIM?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, echoing the spacious room. My sweaty fists slammed the table, with rage long forgotten. It was incredibly infuriating to allow such a person! But why does it have to be?! "IT'S NOT FAIR! HE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE WIELDING AN IS!"_

_"Calm yourself, Orimura-sensei!" The headmistress at the other end of the table calmly ordered, while turning in her wheelie-chair. "You're making yourself look childish…"_

_"J-Just SHUT UP!" I screeched at her, while that accursed woman of a leader was still not making a move. "What makes you think he has potential?! He's a wimp, and I've known him personally!"_

_"But it can become interesting, and yet, a possible dangerous threat…" Another of the female leaders remarked in an accent, sitting beside the headmistress at the one side. "But we did catch him alive."_

_"Yes, and his IS… the Chronos…"A third woman of the head responded, who was on the other side of the headmistress and also playing with a toolbox. "Tabane hasn't designed this one nor have heard of it, so it'll be an excitement for me to dismantle it with my own hands…! Fufufu…"_

_"Bu-But, think about it! I don't think Orimura-kun would stand for his IS being dismantled…" A woman beside the one with the accent commented. But seriously, I don't think he's cut for this!_

_"Ah, but you should consider all the things he can do for us! He can become the best super-soldier in our army! Or better yet, he can lead us to world domination!" The woman with the eye patch across the stuttering woman seemed to have her eye sparkle when she had said the 'domination' part. Ugh… I can't believe this!_

_"I'm still against this! There's no way I would agree to such atrocity!" I made my point clear. There was AB-SO-LUTE-LY NO WAY that he's going into this school! Or better yet, even go near Tokyo!_

_"I knew you would say that… So how about I make this interesting then?" The headmistress asked, with a conniving smile stretched across the face. "How would you like a promotion to become the new headmistress of this prestigious IS Academy?"_

_"R-Really?! I'd lo-!" I was ecstatic and was about to accept the challenge… but there had to be a catch for this… "W-Wait… is there a catch to this…?"_

_"Why yes." She nodded. "You are to teach him in your new classroom starting the spring semester, at Monday, April 4th. Acceptable?" All eyes went towards Chifuyu, struggling from the pressure of the decision._

_"U-Uh… umm…" W-Which answer? My most favourable seat in the Academy… the one in which I have longed for a long, long time… and on top of that, deal with my most hated brother… the one who brought down the family in shame…? Yes… or no…?_

_…_

_… …_

_"I accept."_

_"Good, but there is a rule to this, you know…" The headmistress's smile was stretching. "We'll need him alive and on our side, if we can convince him so…"_

_"W-What…? There's no way that I will keep him alive!" I slammed my fists on the table, sending a small crack on my side to appear. "He's the Exiled in my family! I WILL MURDER HIM IF IT CAME TO THA-!" Erk! W-What?_

_"Oh yes, we really do need him alive…" The grin got wider._

_"I… I…" Something keeps chipping off my voice…Was it my throat…?_

_"But you have to do it nonchalantly… got it?" Everything blurred in sight, as those words rang in my head like giant haunted bells…_

**_SHOOOOOOOOOOOWP_**

**_Present:_ 10:38AM April 4th, Classroom 1-1, still in lecturing**

W-What?! What was that… dream I saw…? A tunnel… and memories… flashing… HER memories? I could taste the sweat dripping down, and I started to feel tired all of a sudden while that… memory… flashed when I closed my eyes…

_"W-what did you just show me…?"_ My thoughts asked desperately.

_"Those were her memories. Past experiences, to be more precise. Now we know why you were let in this 'hellhole'…" Chrono giggled. She can be quite the vain and mean personality sometimes…_

_"Really… Sigh, typical of her, though I never thought she'd be gambling a student for a position, isn't it…"_

_"Hmph, using you as some kind of betting tool only to raise her own position… They really are sickening…"_

_"I know… but…"_

_"Hm?"_

_"There was something wrong with her, as if she was…"_

**AHEM!**

Oh shoot I forgot to open my eyes... and to see a-

**SMACK**

...5-inch…note…book…ouch…

"Don't sleep in class! Or your butt goes to the headmistress!" Chifuyu-sensei ordered, with irritation within her voice. "Why do I even bother…?"

**_Distant Present:_ 10:55AM April 4th, the school roof during break:**

_"Ah… nothing like the timeless breeze flowing through our hair… it feels like paradise since I've became one with you…"_ Chronos's kept talking to me. Why does she keep saying stuff about time though?

"Really… it felt like a case of missing identity when you arrived…" I complained back. I'm still Ichika at heart, but I also have Chronos… to keep me company… and to learn how to be strong… but when I get angry, I tend to lose it…

_"Oh, master. You should really distinguish yourselves!"_ Chrono suggested, in the cheery tone. Miracles do tend to happen to me… not.

"Then what should I distinguish myself as?!" I snapped back out loud at the sky, in order to get through to Chrono. But there was no one to snap at, only to the calm spring sky above my head…

"Distinguish yourself as what?" A familiar voice behind me asked. That cool and strict tone… I turned my head to see Houki, standing there. She had a worried face filled with silence, and with her arms crossed just below the chest. Seeing her like this made me a little distressed.

"Oh, um, it's nothing! Ehehe…" I nervously said as I smiled weakly and scratched the back of my head, obviously an indication that it's something. Houki knew me for that…

"Don't hide from me, you…!" The samurai female spouted angrily, yet in a worried tone. "Tell me Ichika! What happened to you?!" She threw her arms to her side and gave a glare that indicated _'I want to help you'_ towards me. But that was truly not the case.

"I-I told you that m-my name is Dyne!" I tried to assure Houki, but being the stubborn girl, she couldn't accept it. She kept coming towards me, increasing the stubborn and worry she was exerting on me.

"Ichika, don't lie to me! What's with the new get-up? What's with the blond hair and the new contacts? Why are you trying to get away from me?!" She was now close enough to grab my shirt and stare at me, straight into the eyes. I was trying to answer, but the words came out in stutters and incomplete sentences as she kept trying to cut me off. "W-What about the promise we made? Did that ever come to you?! Huh?!" The word _'promise'_ shot me right through the head, like a sniper's bullet. The pain was unbearable and the images that flashed felt like a total whiteout…

**_Past:_ 4:39PM September 28th 2023, in the 3rd grade classroom:**

_Cleanup duty. I can't believe I was stuck cleaning up the classroom today, since today was Thursday, which was the only day I didn't have kendo with Houki. Sweeping up the classroom wasn't too bad though, but it wasn't that part that made me miserable every Thursday._

_"Hah! I heard all about you! You're the one who had the girl give me that scar on my head!" That same black-shirted boy from a year ago taunted me, as we were assigned cleanup duty every Thursday. He never helps though, leaving me with all the cleaning. That boy has been taunting me to punch him in the face or hurt him in any way, but if I hurt someone, my sister would find out and I would be in… deep trouble. I tried to keep my cool to him, just like she has taught me, but he loves to keep coming._

_"Hehehe, if only your girlfriend from last year is here to see me hurt you!" He was rotating his right arm in big circles as if he was gonna punch me. I raised my broom in defense, but-._

**_THWACK!_**

_"Augh!" The screech of the boy died off and I saw a figure behind his felled body, with a thick stick with blood staining one side on his right hand. The figure turned out to be her, whose eyes of seriousness never died down. I couldn't help but look at her with gratitude with what he's done to that annoyance. I saw her cheeks turn red from just seeing me but I didn't mind it._

_"N-need some help?" She asked, shy but carefully. I nodded and it was a great late Thursday afternoon…_

The memories… they were painful… I tried to look away but I couldn't stop the voices… It was those days… that made me suffer that ungrateful torment…

**_Past:_ 4:48PM September 28th 2023, outside the school gates:**

**Houki's POV**

_"T-thanks for knocking some sense into him." He said, with a nervous blush, but smiling. I couldn't help it; I just needed to help someone._

_"At least you weren't hurt, Ichika." I told him, also feeling nervously and blushing at the same time. But then that smile turned into a sorrowful frown._

_"I couldn't hurt him…" He suddenly told me in a sad tone. "I would've g-gotten in trouble if I would have punched him, and he just kept coming at me…" He put his head down, as if he was in disgrace. That look only made my face blush harder._

_"I-it's alright, I understand…" I tried to comfort him, as I was patting him on the back. Poor guy… he's trying hard and yet it's biting back at him… As I was patting his back, I only wanted this moment to last longer… The feelings I had for him were real…_

_"Oh okay then." He suddenly replied back, immediately cheering himself up and standing straight again. I'm not 'terribly' surprised by it though. He's been acting like that since we first met._

_"So what now, Ichika…?" I asked with a heartfelt tone. I didn't know what would happen to him… "Are you sure you'll be alright?"_

_ "I guess I'll get going back home then…and don't worry, I'm feeling alright!" He smiled the same cheery smile, reminding me of the times we were together last year… But then I noticed a tear about to fall from his cheek. I can tell he was lying…_

_"Bye, Shinonono-san!" He waved to me, smiling, and turned around to walk back home. I didn't want him to leave though. I felt a yearning… a beating on my chest… to call back to him. Just how pitiful will I feel towards him…?_

_"W-Wait!" I cried, when he was a good distance away from me. He turned around to show his teary orbs in his widened eyes, staring back at me. I couldn't bear to see him cry… not again; and that's when I said it:_

_"Promise me this! When we meet again, please be my girlfriend!"_

_His eyes widened and after a few seconds smiled. He wiped his tears and showed his pinky to me._

"_I promise!" He shouted back, smiling off in the distance as he walked off into the setting sun. I held up my pinky in response and smiled back. I felt my cheeks heat up more, and my heart beating harder, but I could only say this: it was the best promise a girl can ever hope to keep. I wanted that day; that moment; that love… to last forever._

But it didn't. It was because after that day, and after **that** dreadful day (it was a different day), I never saw him again until today; and the reaction was the opposite of what I have hoped to be…

**_Present:_ 10:56AM April 4th 2032, back on the school roof.**

**Tempo's POV**

**_"Shut up!"_** I cried. I didn't want to suffer it anymore, as I forced my hands on my head._ **"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"**_ I felt Houki let go of my shirt as I raised the most pissed-off face I have ever shown to her. She was shocked beyond belief from hearing my voice, as her hands were covering her mouth.

"I-Ichika…?" I heard her mutter in her hands, in fright.

**_"I told you to stop calling me that…" _**I said, but in a much more quieter, yet threatening voice. She was near crying when she was watching me. I pointed my finger as I released my expression to be calmer, yet with scrunched eyebrows. **_"My name is Dyne Tempo! Can't it get into your skull?!" _** I exclaimed, with the deadly thick aura presented around me. Houki shuddered from it, shaking as it inched on her skin.

"N-no… stop…" She meekly cried.

**_"Hmph…" _**I merely shrugged her off as I was walking towards the stairs to the lower floor. **_"You should forget about your fantasy boyfriend from your childhood. It's better that way."_** I smirked as I entered through the door, then- Hrrkkk! I felt a jab in the gut, but with no one jabbing. But I knew who it was.

**_Hehe… is that the best you can do…?_**

_You… how could you do this to her?!_

**_Never thought you'd care about her; and that you can hurt me while I take over._**

_I do! So apologize to her! **Jab**_

**_Oh, so you desire 'that' type of strength? The weak type? How funny! Hahahaha!_**

_Y-You…!_

**_Hey, relax, lover's boy! At least you care about her!_**

_…_

**_…_**

_Ugh… Just head to class…_

**_Alright then. _**I smiled and ran, with one of myself not having a care, to the classroom. **_But I certainly do feel sorry for Houki… maybe he's been a bit too nice…_******

**_Later: _10:59AM April 4th, At Classroom 1-1, during the last 6 minutes of break:**

**_Lover's boy… that's a new one..._**

I stepped in the classroom, as I heard chatter and saw girls chattering inside. When I walked through the small crowds, I usually have them looking straight at my yellow eyes and other parts of my body. I still don't know what to feel after my first half day at school…

Sitting and lumped out on my desk at the front center row; I really don't like the feeling that you're in front of the speaker (I swear, if it was Chifuyu who can hear me…) and that you're the center of attention for the classroom. It makes me nervous and it certainly I would've been better at the back.

"Hey! May I have some of your time?" A voice? I turned my head over my shoulder to see a blond girl trying to get my attention. Her long hair was in curled ends and her arms were at her waists. She had the accent of the traditional Englishwoman, but the arrogance was also present in her voice. She had the serious look aimed towards me, but why?

"W-What?" I calmly answered, without an expression change. The same yellow eyes looking at her sapphire orbs, but there was something glaring about her.

"What kind of response is that?!" She quickly became annoyed and raised her voice at me. "Is it that the type of response that I, Cecilia Alcott of the Alcott family, would deserve?!" The nobility of England's Alcott family, she meant 'that' rich place…? (Thank God Chrono is a history buff, but she still is angry though…)

"Umm n-no! That's n-not what I mean a-at all!" I tried to make out from my mouth, but my mouth started to stutter a little from handling such… nobility.

"Hmph! You should be honoured to talk to me, young man!" She replied, with much arrogance as she turned her head and crossed her arms.

"So…umm…" I scratched my head with confusion. "Is there something you want?" There has to be a reason why she wants me.

"Have you heard of me?" She asked, still in the same crossed position, but aimed one eye to me.

"N-No… why?"

"Seriously?! I'm the representative Candidate of England! How can you not hear of me?!" She looked at me with angry and surprised eyes, as her arms went to a pouting position.

"Ahh~!" I jumped a little, but not out of my seat. "S-Sorry, I'm just not used to hearing the news…" I can only offer my dumbfounded expression for so long…

"Hmph…" Her expression softened up a little. "Well, if you need any help in this course, don't hesitate to call Cecilia Alcott for help, okay?" She smiled and praised herself. The arrogance wasn't necessary to show off, but as she was gloating, I saw Houki walking into the room. She looked as though she was miserable, and she might have shed a few tears... Thanks a lot…

**_"Heh, lover's boy…"_**

"Enough already…" I put my head on the desk, as my 'other self' inside teased me.

"Class time! Go back to your classrooms." The voice of Chifuyu was suddenly heard as she, and Yamada-sensei, entered from the front door. A few girls left, as the rest went to their seats. Cecilia also walked back to her seat. I don't know how this one will turn out…

"Okay class! Now we have to nominate a class representative!" Yamada simply announced. My breath stopped for a second. "The student who is nominated by her-or-himself, or by means of other students, will be the representative of this class! They will take on other representatives and will be attending the president's meetings! So any nominees?" I now knew how this would turn out…

One girl raised her hand. "I nominate Tempo-kun!"

"I agree!" Another announced as she raised her hand. Ugh… I hate it when this happens…

"So we got 2 nominees for Tempo-kun! Any more? Or else he'll be the representative!" Yamada-sensei announced cheerfully. I sulked and then looked at Chifuyu. She wasn't really interested, since she had her eyes closed and arms crossed as she sat at the corner. I still felt very disturbing when I see her like this.

"T-That's not fair!" A voice cried out from the back of the room. It was Cecilia, outraged by the nominations (I think). Her blue eyes are glaring at me, as if this was a type of competition. "Why should a man be the representative and not me?!"

I shrugged with fright and confusion and lifted my hands to signify _'Don't hurt me!' _"W-What…? What's wrong with that?"

"No wonder this backwater place of a country is rotten, unlike the English!" Everyone gasped by that comment, including me. Backwater…

Backwater… "it's **_certainly not backwater…"_** I gripped my fist.

**_Distant Past:_ Unknown Time**

_~"This place… this beautiful place that was kept safe in the long years of the past … and it will be safe for all eternity …"~_

That voice…

**_Present:_**

"W-Wait, Cecili-!" Yamada-sensei was trying to calm her, but to no avail.

"I swear, I came to this place to polish my already-graceful IS moves, but I never signed up to join a circus!" Her rant continued.

C-Circus… **_"Nothing's like a circus…"_** I closed my eyes out of anger.

**_Distant Past: _Unknown Time**

_~"The way of kendo and swordsmanship is never child's play. The world itself is never a circus act, and never will be, but a way of life. Ones who haven't experienced it is already living the circus life."~_

I know that voice…

**_Present:_**

"Besides! Men are weak, and I never seen a buffoon or a **wimp** like him ever led to greater success! It should be me! Cecilia Alcott!" Those words… it made me snap.

**_Distant Past: _Unknown Time**

_~"I know your destiny… you have a great destiny; one that may shake the world, or crumble it to pieces. Please… restore this world back to its normal state…because you're never a wimp… but you're strong… smart… a brave man…and …"~_

How could I forget those words of yours…?

**_Present:_**

**_"Hey! Are you done blabbing? Or is there still more to your horrendous blimp-sized ego?" _**I responded in fluent English. My anger hasn't seethed. I opened my eyes to reveal golden globes of pure rage and slammed my fists **hard.** It caught the attention of everyone, and made Cecilia shut up. **_"Hah! After hearing all that, it makes me believe you're less than capable than me!"_**

"W-Well, what makes you think that you'd do a better job?!" She exclaimed, starting to sweat a little from being nervous.

**_"On one point, I'd say that countless presidents from the past and fearless leaders have led many countries to success, like America, China, Japan and especially England!"_** Reasoning with a cool-headed tone. **_"And let me make it clear that it was MALE leaders that have led your people to the new revolution!"_**

"O-Our leaders today do it too!" She tried to complain, but I didn't stop.

**_"And to make things clear, IS is more complicated than you think! It's not CHILD'S PLAY! It's no CIRCUS ACT!"_** I raised my voice. **_"Do you really think that you're the top of the class, just because of your name? Or is your name a lot smaller than a millionth of your ego?"_**

"B-But…!"

**_"Finally let me make this clear! We have created the most in this 'backwater' country! Video games, software, even your own IS! And what did you do? Gloat around with tea? Begin two world wars? Shoot a bomb at us! Why not two to be exact!? Is that how you repay our country, by comparing it to your 'superior' origin?" _**I let out a sigh of relief. She was speechless, but after a few seconds, she spoke up.

"Y-You…! Errghh!" She was absolutely livid. "Fine, we shall settle in a duel then! Next week at Monday!" She said, while pointing the finger at me. Unfortunately I don't do so well at the next weeks.

**_"Oh really?"_** I smiled maliciously… as I partial summoned _Chronos_'s right arm with clawed fingers and lunged at her with frightful speed. **_"Then how about now?!"_** She looked at me in shock, as I was about to break her head off with the shield, but-

**CLANG!**

**_"Hmph… you just have to interfere, don't you…?"_** I said, with a grin, as I saw Chifuyu with a katana blocking my strike towards Cecilia. She wasn't grinning though, having a clear-cut struggle with me.

"If next week won't work for you, then do Wednesday…" She reasoned, while shaking her arms out of tiredness. "Or perhaps you would like to reason with the headmistress…?" Eh all right, two days are within my patience's time limit…

**_"Hehe, perfect…" _**I connived and laughed as I retracted my IS. But I didn't stop, without a warning. I pointed to Cecilia and exclaimed in a threatening voice. **_"Listen here, Alcott-san! I will enjoy hearing you suffer and scream resplendently at death's door on Wednesday! Hahaha…" _**I just knew this truly is a fun way to start off my new school life.

* * *

**Hey again, guys! Irate here! And this time I took my time with this one! So I'm VERY SORRY if this is a LOT LONGER than it should have been -3- but hey, I wanted to get all the ideas down! Btw, this is not planned, just making things up as I go! XD**

**Infinite Stratos doesn't belong to me. Only the gods that have made this anime own it and they should continue with the series. I only own that jerk Dyne Tempo and Chrono.**


	4. Chapter 3: Past Nightmares

**Hey guys! Irate here with another chapter! A little shorter and more boring than the previous chapter, but it's still a chapter. Don't worry though, excitement is sure to ensue in the next one! I don't own Infinite Stratos! Apparently, disclaimers before the story are much more better than after! :D**

* * *

_**Distant Past:**_** 9:25AM April 1****st****, 2032, in the small crossfire at Tokyo highway:**

"_Hehehahahahahaha! So this is the male IS user I heard about?!" A purple longhaired woman with an Osakan accent, and with ferocity of a bear, maniacally laughed inside her IS, while mercilessly and rapidly pummeling her powerful, steam-powered and giant fighting gauntlets towards the helpless me. I was fearfully cowering behind Chronos's gear-shaped shield to soften the blows, but it was still dealing damage because of the sheer excess force that the gauntlets blow out. Soon though, I couldn't block anymore and she launched me with her last assault punch, which made me fly and crash land on the ground, with distance between her and I. The 4 militants who were with surrounding the 'arena' cheered for their leader, who has nearly KOed her opponent._

"_Ouuuhh…" I moaned in pain as I barely tried to stumble myself back on my feet. Chrono told me that this would be my first fight experience but I've never once fought anyone in combat. Plus, I had quite the number of disadvantages: those terrorists got a head start on fighting me before asking for a duel, I barely have any training unlike the opponent standing in front of me, I haven't had anything to eat ever since I found Chronos, the movements itself were incredibly clunky, etc. "C-Chrono… what do I do…? You said this would be easy…" I asked her desperately in my thoughts, but I heard no answer._

"_Hehe, don't make me laugh boy!" The Osakan woman sneered, as I saw her towering over me, with only a foot between her and I. Her smile gave a maniacal twist, as she has been obsessing over something for a long time. The purple IS then gave away steam from its engines and grabbed my torso. "Your gender became weak ever since our time began! And it will keep it that way if I destroy you here and now!" She was about to crush my ribs and puncture into my heart and lungs, but-_

_**FLASH**_

_My armour became white and it started to spread and glow violently. The light felt like the Sun, as I was engulfed by it. I saw her let go and cover her eyes with her massive gauntlets, while the rest of the terrorists shielded their eyes as well. My injuries faded as if it was magic, and I felt a shock of bravery coming within me. As the light shined even more, a voice came to me out of the blue._

"_**I can tell you desire power…"**_

_M-me…?_

"_**I can tell you desire strength…"**_

_I just want to get out… but I can't even lay a scratch on her…_

"_**Do you want to defeat her…?"**_

_Y-Yes…_

"_**Good. Now close your eyes… and awaken your true self and your true potential…!"**_

_I closed my eyes and I felt an odd twitch in my brain, yet it felt familiar… So damn familiar that it felt like nothing at all once it passed. But I let it take over, as my arms and legs tightened within the grip of Chronos. After the light subsided and everything faded to black, I only heard two voices talking to each other. One of them was certainly the Osakan woman, but the other one sounded… different. It was of no one I once have known, but it felt like I knew who it belonged to:_

"_W-What?! You were fighting me with the initial set-ups?!"_

"_**Hehehe… so what are you waiting for? Weren't you gonna say that you think my gender and its pride are weak? What about now, after the 1**__**st**__** shift, eh?"**_

"_Ergh… men are still men, even if they are using the same weapon!"_

"_**Hmph! Always the same, before and after combat…! I'll send you to hell personally!"**_

What… what was happening?

_**Present:**_** 7:51PM April 4****th****, 2032, after class, in the student dormitories hall…**

"Hmmmm..." I said in my head. I was walking down the hallways after the classes, lunch, more classes and dinner. At least the food was good, but the classes were just boring. Wish I wasn't so bombarded by so many girls though…

"_What are you thinking, master?"_ Chrono's voice resonated in my head.

"Remember that time when we entered 1st shift?" I said. I remembered that memory like it was yesterday; fighting that crazy Osakan lady in a terrorist group was quite scary… "What ever happened after that fight?"

"_Oh, ummm…" _Chrono sounded as though she tried to remember. _"You blacked out because… you were hungry! Yeah, and… the military from this town found you and picked you up! Right that's what happened!"_ was what she came up with.

"I see…" I replied, as I remember the punches from the IS the purple haired woman landed on me. I still felt their pain… but it's all done and in the past now.

As I approached my new dorm room, knocked and opened the door to my new room 2042, I heard showering. "H-Hello?" I called out. "I'm your new roommate! I'm c-coming in!"

"H-Huh? Oh, already?" A voice from the bathroom came out and into my ears. "I'll be in you care." They sound so familiar. But when the person came out from the bathroom with nothing but a pink towel… "I'm Shinono-."

I immediately covered my eyes as my cheeked blushed from the sight I saw in a lapse of two seconds. "I-Ichika?! What are you doing here?!" Houki looked at me, with widened eyes, as she immediately grabbed her wooden kendo sword resting on the chair next to her.

"H-Huh? W-W-Wait a minute!" I jumped out of the way as she did an overhead slash near me. She was about to do a stabbing style of kendo; I closed the door in front of her. But as soon as I did, the sword went through the door, with my eyes widened by the amount of strength she had with a wooden sword. The door immediately flung open to reveal a red-faced Houki, still with the towel though. Her eyes were filled with embarrassment and anger as she stepped out of the door in her sword stance with a tight grip. No no no… This totally wasn't a good start to my year…

"Ehhhh! Shinonono-san!" A voice came from my right. I turned to see the both sides of the hallway filled with girls, some looking peeved, others looking worried, and a few smiling.

"Never knew she would go for this early…"

"Shinonono, you daring girl…"

"But didn't he act scary today? Isn't she scared?"

"So that's what she's into~!"

This only made Houki angrier, as she heard those comments. Her fist tightened as she again lunged at me with another overhead slash. I closed my eyes to await the pain but-.

**GRASP**

Huh? I opened my eyes to see both of my hands clasping on the blade, as it was a technique I… knew? Houki was stunned by the tactic, while the spectators were awed from… my technique.

"B-Blade Grasp…" She muttered, before stepping away back into her room and shutting the door. I can tell she wasn't too fond of handling her blade. But I did feel hickey from all the stares going towards me.

"Wow, Tempo-san…!" Most of the girls said as they stare in awe, with eyes-a-sparkling. A couple was giggling from the situation I'm in. Yeah… quite a year indeed…

_**Yep, a year to behold…**_

_**Present:**_** 8:00PM April 4****th****, in room 2042, after some 'settling down':**

"So then why do you hate showering in the kendo club showers?" I said, sitting on the bottom half of the left bed, legs outward.

"I-I just prefer my shower here, that's all…" Houki made a small blush.

"Oh, if you say so." I said, scratching my head.

"Then you tell me," She swapped her voice into a serious tone as she looked at me. "Why are you, a guy, in a girl's dorm?"

"T-They don't have my new dorm room prepared yet…" I told her, with a sigh to start off. "It can take a while, so this shouldn't be too bad." I gave her a reassuring smile, but it only reddened the blush.

"Well, they shouldn't be sharing rooms!"

"I'm not sleeping outside…"

"Fine… I get it, Ichika…"

"Why do you keep calling me that…?" I gave her a confused look, but I knew deep down why she would call me that.

"A-Ah, I mean Tempo-san…" She looked away.

"Thanks, Shinonono-san." I said with a cheery tone, as I got up to take a good shower. I need some immediate relief from the trip to the dorms, and my body needs to loosen up a bi-…

"Why are there no toilets in the bathroom?" I asked Houki on the other side of the pink walls.

"There are none. They are at the ends of the hallways." She answered back. "Why?"

Great… "Oh, it's nothing…"

_**Distant Present:**_** 8:34AM Tuesday, April 5****th****, 2032, at the mess hall:**

~Yawn…~

A great sleep, and to complement that, a great meal! I was ready to chow down on the Academy's served platter for breakfast: a cup of tea and miso soup, steamed dumplings on the side, an omelette with cheese and asparagus, a BLT sandwich and French buttered toast to top it off! When I took a bite into my BLT, it felt like I haven't ate anything good for so long. Houki was also sitting beside me, eating her comparatively small meal, and having a cold look. Well, she always had that look, but…

"Wow, Tempo-kun~!" One girl said behind me. I turned to see her staring at my platter of food. "That's a lot of food!" What she had… was just a slice of sweetened toast.

"D-Don't worry! I can finish it!" I nervously smiled at her, reassuring that I won't be throwing up all of it in the hallways.

"He is a guy after all, so he does eat a lot." Another girl walked up beside her, assuring her of that perk.

"Yeah, but… this much? I guess he needs the energy." A third girl approached the conversation. I gave a sigh and continued eating, being a little nervous, but still eating.

"You sure are popular, Tempo-san." Houki said, still giving the cold shoulder to me. I gave another sigh. Don't give me that tone…

"_Heeheehee~ Oh Master, I never thought you were good with 'girls'~!"_ Chrono giggled and teased at the back of my head. You don't need to give me that tone as well! Just the thought of the 'girls' ringing in my head wasn't enough to make me lose my appetite. At least these girls were nice to me…

"They are different, Chrono…!" I softly snapped to myself in my head as I swallowed the last of my BLT, full and satisfied with my breakfast. The three girls that were grouping behind me turned into a large crowd, wondering how I can eat so much, and whether I'll grow fat or not. "These ones are more… 'friendlier'." I told her again, as the girls now tried to introduce themselves to me, and sat down and ate with me as well. It felt really welcoming as time went by, and I was mostly able to memorize the names.

"_**Hmph, don't give me that… They're just after-."**_

"Okay, let's not go that far, Grumpy-pants…" I smiled calmly. I was guessing He wasn't an early morning riser.

"_**Grumpy… pants…? Ughh…"**_

"_Pfft, hahaha~! Grumpy-pants~"_

"_**Oh har-dee-har har…" **_Chronos couldn't help but howl with laughter in my head. I can tell she was waiting for that one to happen. But it was just to get back at him from yesterday.

"HEY! HOW SLOW DO YOU GIRLS EAT?!" Chifuyu's voice rang throughout the mess hall as she was standing near the entrance. All the girls went ahead and started to munch on their small meals. I left them to their meals, since I finished mine during the conversations, and headed straight to class. But as I walked out the main door, I couldn't help but to feel two small glances behind me. It's part of the sharp and cold variaties too… but I didn't bother to look behind me.

_**Later:**_** 9:58AM April 5****th****, 2032, Classroom 1-1, before class begins:**

_**Whose stares were those…?**_

Through the mob of female students cluttering the hall, it somehow took me a bit of time to scuffle my way through towards the chattering room of fellow students. But somehow, ever since the glances back at the mess hall, I felt really uneasy about today, especially since one of the stares were still on my trail. I looked towards the direction of the cold, hardened stare as I walked, only to notice Cecilia giving off that look.

"Why didn't I take next week on Monday…?" I thought and sighed. I certainly didn't want to take on a fight so early as tomorrow.

I sat down at my desk with books and everything ready to sleep on through the lesson, while Yamada-sensei entered in through the automatic door. She looks a little more tired than usual though; her hair was a little messier and her eyes looked a little sleepy and dead. She wasn't smiling either; she looked deadpanned. Did she have a rough night?

"A-Ah! Orimura-kun!" She muttered under her breath, enough volume in the voice for me to hear.

"Sensei, it's not Orimura!" I snapped back at her, but trying to hold my breath in, as I didn't want her to cry in public. But surprisingly, she didn't react like that.

"There is a meeting that you must go to in half n' hour." She said monotonously. "Orimura-sensei will accompany you throughout the meeting." I was sort of concerned with her lack of… energy, rather than the meeting.

"Umm sure, but…" I looked at her eyes, as if they were a coloured shade of void. "You alright?"

"I just need some water…" She said, rubbing her eyes and taking off her glasses, as she walked out of the classroom. I honestly think she does. Maybe teaching does that to you…?

"Alright, take your seats! Homeroom classes have begun!" Chifuyu announced from the entrance of the room. The students in our class took their seats as a few of them went back out the door. As everything got in order, she began to speak up front to the class.

"As you all know, we'll have our first IS battle for this class tomorrow at Wednesday morning between Alcott-san and Tempo-san." Chifuyu reminded the class. Of coruse, they didn't need the reminder, as that's all they were hoping to see tomorrow. Cecilia gave a sneer indicating… her arrogance, I guess. I'm not so good with reading people. "So for today, I'll be going through the parameters of the IS match…" I immediately dozed off from the talk.

"_**Hmm..."**_

"What's up?" I said in my thoughts. When that voice appeared in my head and it was concerned in its own thinking process, I knew there was something really up.

"_**Your teacher used to sound cheery and ditzy, some traits that didn't make a teacher…"**_

"Yeah… what do you suspect is up?"

"_**Good. Guess the officials finally went to change homeroom teachers. I don't like cheery people…"**_

"Ahem…" I make a sound that indicated clearing my throat in my head.

"_But I will say that there was something not right about this…"_ Chrono at least agrees with me. _"Maybe you should look at your sister's memories again?"_

"Well… I don't want to be caught sleeping again." I replied in my thoughts, with assurance that I seriously don't want to be slapped with another 5-inch thick notebook.

"_Alright, I'll keep your eyes wide open! Just glance at your watch, then it'll do the rest for you."_ She insisted and instructed on me to the watch. I gave a small nod to myself, opened my watch under the desk and closed my eyes…

_**WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH**_

_**Distant Past:**_** 9:32AM April 5****th****, 2032, in the teacher's dorm:**

**Chifuyu's POV**

"So, you're going to let him back in via scheduled meeting, are you…?" I said, even though I hated the fact that my family is going to stop at nothing to get him back. Is him using an IS all they want from him…?

"Yep you know it, Onee-san!" Madoka, my younger, spunky but more sadistic, sister replied. "Even if he does say no, we'll offer him many things! If not, we'll do some more 'convincing', but if that doesn't work, then we'll have no choice but to do the usual… you know~!"

"Even if you tried, he'd still say no." I told her. It was obvious that what we did from those past years, he'll still reject. "And I will not be part of that meeting… I'm teaching a class filled with idiots, you know." I sipped my bottle of water as I walked out of my room, with materials and everything on one hand, cellular phone on the other.

"Awww, at least bring Ichika-san to the meeting, pleeeease~?" She begged. I just kept walking, but after a few minutes of non-stop pleading, I gave in.

"Fine… I guess Yamada-kun can teach, while I bring him over to the room. But nothing more, got it?" I replied, with much defeat in my voice.

"Yay~ sis!" She cheered over the phone. God this girl… I felt the need to break something already. "So we'll be there in half an hour, set up until 10:30AM and-!"

_**SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOWP**_

_**Present: **_**10:17AM April 5****th****, 2032, Classroom 1-1**

**Tempo's POV**

Owwww! What the-?! Who cut me out?!

"Hey, you worthless idiot! Wake up!" I opened my eyes to see nothing, but to feel a sort of blindfold over top of it. On my head was the feeling of pain. I opened the blindfold to see Chifuyu's deathly eyes (more angrier than yesterday, I'll give you that) staring down on me. I shuddered as the rest of the class giggled behind me.

"What is it?" I asked as I removed the blindfold entirely.

"Stop sleeping in my class!" Her glare and voice was like a dozen bears, but I felt a little too sleepy to be scared. It could have been the big breakfast, but who cares?

"I know this stuff already." I told her. I would be scared, but I needed to act calm, just like how I learned to. But that tone angered her more as she slammed her palms on my desk, making the books fly an inch high, then going back down.

"Okay, I get it…" I meekly said, hands up towards her, telling her I got the idea. She straightened herself and gave a few breaths to regain her composure.

"Okay. Now I'm pretty sure Yamada-sensei will be back any time, so come with me." She said, with much composure, but clenching her fist, saying 'Don't try to squeeze out of this'.

"D-Do I ha-?"

"Yes!"

"Alright." I got up, picked up the blindfold (it was a green cotton, with eye prints on it… very brilliant of you, Chrono), and walked with her reluctantly out of the class. I turned to get a last look before I go though. Some of the girls looked confused about the meeting, others are still giggling about the sleeping incident. Houki has a very annoyed glare on her face, while Cecilia has a sneering feeling flushed over her body. I, on the other hand, felt kind of sweaty and shaky. I didn't want to see them again. Not after so many years of endless torture and pain… and what they have labeled me as…

_**Past:**_** 5:02PM Sunday, October 4****th**** 2023, somewhere in the Orimura household…**

…

… …

…_ugggghhhhhh…where am I…? …Why is it so dark…?_

_The fresh scent of blood lurked in my head, and everything was hurting all over. I painfully looked around to only see dim lamps around me. The rest was blanketed in murk. I tried to move my beaten arms and slashed legs but they seemed to be strapped on tight, and blood came out of the wounds. It felt like the torture room I've seen in eternity, and torture felt the most painful, so being locked in one is never a pretty feeling, but I couldn't tell… After being here for… who knows how long… who would care for me…_

"_My oh my… your little 'son' has finally awoken from all that pain~…" A slurring female voice rang in the air, when hearing those words made me try to struggle out in vain. Who's… voice is that…? And why does it feel so hot…?_

"_Yes… this little brat never learns, doesn't he…?" M-Mother…? The heat intensified._

"_I agree~. It's sad this brat never followed what we said… now he's lower than garbage~!" N-N-Nee-san…? If there were flames, they would be touching my back now…!_

"_It's time we labeled him out of the family… for good!" No… don't do it… please O-Onee-sa-!_

"_**AAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHH HHHHHHHH!"**__ Something stung my back as I screamed my lungs out… something hot and tasted like condensed hell with pain incarnate. It felt as though it lasted for countless hours, scorching without end. I heard maniacal laughter filling the air, as if it was mocking the very sight of an actual torture scene. It really did feel like the deep layers of hell… The devil was kissing me down to the very core of my soul. As the pain finally ended, there was nothing… Everything black, except for one phrase that echoed in my head…_

"_Know your place, heretic…"_

_**Present:**_** 10:28AM, April 5****th****, 2032, in the classroom hallways:**

Ugh… My back grimaced in pain, as well as my head, as I slowed down from behind Chifuyu, who was leading me to the Orimura's. Eventually it came to a stop, because the pain felt so vivid and realistic and boy, did it feel like pain from another tomorrow…

Honestly, I didn't want to go, but it wouldn't be courageous of me to face it… To face my past will be torturous and it would be really painful, but I have to… Just like how that voice told me before at the school…

"Hey, keep up, will you?" Chifuyu's voice reached to my ear, as I saw her a few meters away. She had the stern look, yet she also had her 'I don't care' attitude with her. If I weren't her student, I would ignore her and just run. But that wasn't the case…

"Yeah…" I got up and jogged back to her distance and we just kept walking until 3 minutes later, when we have reached a secluded door, different from the rest. Chifuyu just looked at me when she stopped at the door and turned. She nudged me to go in with closed eyes, while I saw her walk back to the direction of Classroom 1-1. Some teacher…

I turned around to meet the door. It was certainly different: it was automatic like the other doors but this one had a more… darker hue to it. I gulped and took a deep breath. It wasn't easy to meet with the people you hate with all your heart and soul, as they try to win you back and apologize for the mishaps they did to you. They would shower you with gold and love, give you comfortable hospitality and you know… in my case, use me for their own purposes. Well, as _Chronos_ said to me before:

"_**If you wish to obtain my power and your dreams… then show me your courage."**_

I gotta do this. I took my sweaty palm and it went towards the do-.

**OPEN**

"NIIIIIIIIII-SAAAAAAAN~~~!" A voice cheered as someone barreled right through and slammed into me. I was certainly caught by surprise and was knocked backwards. As it turns out, the person was a woman with black hair, all long and is apparently hugging me. She had a maroon dress over her body, stockings on her legs and long heels.

"N-Nii-san?!" I questioned in awkwardness, as I immediately, but not forcefully, pushed her away. That means… I'm her brother? I looked at her, as she's releasing me from the hug. She had blood red eyes staring at me, and a large smile on her face. She had a hairpin in her black hair, resembling an iron cross with a ruby-shaped rose in its central bind.

"It's been too long, nii-san!" She cheerfully said as she straightened her hair to let it flow, after launching herself like a cannon. "What's with the blond hair and contacts?! Never thought you wanted to look hip!"

"Shut up. What the hell do you want?" I replied back, with much disdain. I didn't want her to waste my time.

"Aww~, is that how you talk back to Madoka-nee~?" She told me in a playful stern voice, as if she was the elder sister, but it felt more mocking than playful. I just grunted back with, again, much disdain.

"Oh, right! Anyway, the rest of the family wants to see you!" She said as she removed herself from the door's way.

"**SURPRIIISE!" *****confetti*******

"Oh, uhhh…" A… surprise welcome party…? But… aside from the usual gang, who are those guys… and why do they have guns?

* * *

**So what do you think? Post comments, read, review, fav or follow! Please! PLEEEASE! *begs on the floor, with tattered shirt and pants***


	5. Chapter 4 Wiped from the Past

**Weapons:**

**Clockwork Shield:**** A golden shield, with hands that point to the current time, that looks like the Big Ben's face, with a thin see-through indestructible mirror glass covering the face, able to reflect any projectile with ease. It is attached on the front of the forearms, and can shift instantly from one arm to another. Able to absorb and deflect any projectile without harming the shield level of the IS. Once shots has been absorbed, it can be stored within the shield battery where it can be launched back in a cannonade style, or absorbed to restore IS energy.**

**The Knightblade:**** A beam saber made entirely of aura and light, rumoured to belong to a legendary templar, bringing judgment down to foes while protecting their comrades in battle. It is attached within the shield, and able to be activated within the slightest of thought, although it's not good with cutting cleanly. The aura emitting from the handle of the shield can steal the energy of the IS and can do of two things:**

**Once sheathed into the shield, it can restore your own IS energy.**

**It can manifest into the Knightblade and increase your power on your next strike.**

**It also can shift to three elements within command:**

**Age of Suns:**** Fire**

**Age of Ice:**** Ice**

**Age of Storms:**** Lightning**

**Age of Futures:**** Light (default)**

**Age of Ends:**** Darkness**

**Aether Armour:**** Made by the finest, exotic and most indestructible metals (rumoured to be the famed orichalcum, the exotic metals of Atlantis, but it was not confirmed) and leathers.**

**Soul Shackles:**** Chain launchers made of light on both arms, engraved in the energy veins. Can be unleashed from the arms to take hold of enemies. It's close to impossible to be broken by someone else.**

**Chrono-Shifter (Codename: REWIND):**** A repair unit that can rewind the fabrics of time and space to repair an inanimate object, or reverse someone's death. To reverse someone's death though will cost a lot of energy from the pilot though.**

**Chrono-Standard (Codename: CHRONO):**** The lovable sprite, Chrono, will tag along with you in battle! She can attach to a single IS and disrupt their movement, weapons, and controls. If the IS is unmanned, she is able to take control of the IS.**

**Chrono-Storm (Codename: RAIN):**** A shockwave tramsutation unit that can be emitted from the Knightblade from a single swipe, firing harpoons of light that home towards targets. The harpoons vary in element, depending on what ****Age**_**Chronos**_** is in.**

**Chrono-Force (Codename: BLAST):**** The power of wind and energy sockets; enough to fire blasts from the palms of **_**Chronos**_**. Is able to slice almost anything with this blast, though it will be deadly inaccurate on where you want to slice.**

**Chronos-Void (Codename: VOID):**** A vacuum unit that can generate a powerful black sphere, similar to a neutron star that sucks everything in with its powerful gravitational force. One who gets caught in the void can be crushed indefinitely. The void gets bigger the more it swallows, but can be dispelled by the pilot.**

**Memory Shocker:**** A small but powerful taser attached to the arms that shock the target. It's very strong, enough to make the target see and reflect his/her past regressions (and also see stars). It's non-lethal though, so it's impossible to kill someone with such a taser…**

**The Lucky Golden Pocket Watch:**** A memento, having the power of reading other people's moves, or thought, and watching people's past memories and regressions, and their intake on it.**

**Time Crusher Unit:**_**Chronos**_**'s ultimate ability, and involves much energy to use. The use of chronoshift installed and utilized within **_**Chronos**_** towards the maximum potential, inflicts large amounts of energy on a large zone (as big as a large capital city) that basically distort and halt time and space indefinitely to roughly up to 15 minutes. While in this area, the pilot can weave the distortion of space and use whatever is trapped within the distortion. It will bring as much as no pain to a complete strain to the pilot, depending on how large the area is or how long it has been held. It cannot, however, reverse or speed up time in the area.**

**12-Hour Evolution Visor and Wheel: **_**Chronos**_** unfortunately cannot achieve 2****nd**** shift due to the unknown creator's… unawareness... through the usual conventional means. Thus, it solely involves the utilization of the pilot's visor to scan and copy parts of another piece of the IS in sight, in order for the certain part of it to be formed for the pilot's sake. For example, if the pilot wants to copy the wings of another IS, they must scan it in order to have it copied and added onto **_**Chronos**_**. Keep in mind that the nanobots within **_**Chronos**_** will take time to create such equipment, depending on how large it has to be. The pilot may save and customize any part that has been copied and saved for later use, whether it could be before or during battle. However, the pilot can only copy just one particular set (wings, bits, gauntlets, pieces of armours, ONE passive ability, ONE main weapon, etc.) for twelve different IS. But the road to achieve 2****nd**** shift… it'll be a long, mysterious and tedious one…**

**Empowerments:**

**Regeneration:**** Whether it was wounds, broken bones, fatal wounds or blood gashes on the pilot, they will fix themselves up and regenerate three times as fast as any other, whether or not **_**Chronos**_** is activated alongside with the pilot.**

**Strength Boost:**** The pilot has their strength multiplied, even without **_**Chronos**_** active.**

**Time-slipper:**** The pilot's running speed and reaction speed is increased, as fast as running across walls and ceilings with ease.**

**History:**** Innate knowledge from the past, starting from the beginning of the world to the present.**

**Auto-Repair: **_**Chronos**_** is able to repair itself out of battle, no matter how damaged it is. It will take around 48 hours though…**

**The 'Foretell' Beacon:**** The power to perceive when opponents act, and when is the best time to block attacks and counter. Think of it as an inner conscience…**

**Partial Materialization:**** The pilot can activate and use any separate part of **_**Chronos**_** to use as he deems fit.**

**Visor Scan and Helmet Skin Functions:**** A helmet feature that can do scanning with close-up, X-ray, heat, night vision, ethereal vision and diagnosis. The skin functions holds many items used for different adaptabilities, like scuba gear, space gear, heatproof suits, rubber suits, stealth units and the optimal steel skin (able to block many bullets and regular katanas, but doesn't shrug off the beam weapons so well; can also hold bones completely intact when flying in high speeds).**

_**Hehe, so how's that for a synopsis of what Chronos can do? By the way, the updates will go a little slower today. I'm still in the midst of work here D:**_

_**Anyway, Read and Review please, and Infinite Stratos doesn't belong to me. Read and Review doesn't either.**_

* * *

_**Past:**_** 5:52AM, October 5****th****, 2024, just on the desolate outskirts of town:**

…

"_Hey, is he alright…?"_

"_Nah, leave him alone. Doesn't look like he's alive…"_

"_Besides, we need to catch the line! Don't want to get shot at…!"_

_The conversation was heard and then faded out on the right as I opened my eyes to let in the glaring sunlight. My head was pounding and everywhere was hurting. I felt my scratches and cuts on my body sting from the harsh cold breeze that just flew by. When I took a look around, it looked as though it was the slums of Tokyo._

"_The usual place…" The buildings gave the same broken down and old-fashioned feeling as they were much different to the metallic ones I remember seeing before a year ago. The streets are, as usual, littered with people who looked like they needed something in their stomachs. Some were selling food… or what looked like scraps of food, others doing music on the streets while getting barely any coin for their efforts, and the rest just walking or running through in order to gain things in other methods. As I looked harder, the crowd almost consisted of all men, walking off towards their new homes..._

_Their home… their new 'association' which is the self-serving backlash of the Infinite Stratos (IS for short), the new age for the whole world. It spells certain evolution for many of us while it also spells doom on its face. I was never informed about this when I was young, so why did my family never tell me…_

_Infinite Stratos, over the course of the modern age, was firstly designed to be in space exploration. But it turns out it was a despicable lie, which, in reality, was a female-only battle suit, much more stronger than napalms. The women felt as though they were glorified, but men felt depreciated. This only went into minor scuffles here and there in the world if IS but it later became a complete disaster 6 months ago, known as the 'Purge of Society'..._

_Death…_

_Fear…_

_Torment…_

_Fires…_

_Screams…_

_Terror…_

_Those were what reigned upon the ones in the slums. Many IS's and their pilots were indulged in a killing spree, and their targets were everyone. Well, not generally everyone, but their targets are men. The IS reigned missiles and gunfire down on us. The mothers and girls were safe, but the men and boys were always rallied towards their death by means of cold blood._

_Not just Japan was covered in male blood, but everywhere on the world was engulfed in half-smitten genocide. England, China, Germany, France, Russia, America, you name it! It was like women were only glorified for themselves all because of a stupid toy that looked like a Gundam and their generous ego. Sadly, that 'toy' can easily kill me with a few gunshots, and many women are arrogant enough to shoot you even if you gave them a dozen chocolates for White Day. The genocide was thankfully halted though… seeing friends that I have made over the past year in the slums made me forget that I'm even disowned. But…_

"_Mother… Father… everyone… what's happening…? Why have you all turned into monsters?" I felt that life wasn't going to cling on to me once I knew I could never go back to my old life._

And I never will go back. When I merged with _Chronos_, I felt a new destiny within me awaken; and from that day, I knew that I was going to change the world and cut the world's ends from predomination. But change for what? For the better… or for the worse?

_**Present:**_** 10:34AM, April 5****th****, 2032, in the party room:**

"O-Oh, wow! What a surprise…!" I said nervously, as I saw the crowd of family members surround a table on one end, trying to make the surprise give off more pizzazz. Two twin girls, both in chocolate hair, in yukatas made a jumping cheery face when they gave the surprise, while one black-haired lady pulled the 2 crackers of confetti and fired into the air. Another purple-haired lady was also giving a smile, which was on the other side of the confetti lady, but I can tell her smile is forced. Standing at the corners of the room were black-suited men, each holding an AK47 with them. They gave a serious, yet blank look on their faces for some reason.

But my attention was caught to the two directly on the other side of the table: a woman who looked like she was in her mid 40s with a smile on her face, and the man who is close to balding, who had more of a forced smile on him as well. I immediately straightened myself and walked in. Madoka… if that's her name, followed in with a cheery smile.

As I walked in, I noticed the decorations they had to pull. The room was filled with streamers hanging on the wall and balloons on the ceiling. The table in front of me had treats, ranging from cookies; onigiri, grilled yakitori, strawberry Pocky, Toppo chocolate and even a fruitcake were there too. I already had my breakfast, so I hung on my stomach. They looked too good to be there.

"Ouaahhh! This is Onii-saaan~!?" The twins cheered as they wobbled to me, with Pocky in their mouths. They looked like they were 9 years old, with red eyes and stubby noses. The only difference between them was that one of them had a small dot on their lower left cheek.

"Wow, he looks so strooong~!" One of the girls complemented.

"Yeah, and he looks so braaave~!" The other replied, and they both giggled.

"Um thanks?" I thanked them nervously. They sounded like the ideal little sisters.

"Awww~ aren't Chui-chan and Rui-chan just adorable, nii-san~?" Madoka asked, while squealing my name at the end of her quotation. That didn't settle inside me well enough for some reason.

I turned, with my eyes rolling, to see another lady approaching me, having this sergeant look in her eyes. She had long flowing hair and in a sergeant's uniform (who guessed?), but had a very warm welcoming facial look on her. It looked like she had a scar over her eye, so she must be one to fight countless battles… "Squall Meusel, pleasure to meet you, Ichika Orimura." She sweetly introduced herself, and then took a small bow afterwards.

"U-Ummm flattering, Squall-san…" I said, nervously scratching my head and blushing. Madoka gave a small giggle beside me, and Squall's smile got a little wider. "You're a cousin or a friend or something?"

"A friend." She replied. "I am part of an organization that helps others around the world using IS."

"Cool." Helping the world with IS? That's something new, and I would join two-fold, but there were other pressing matters at hand. I turned around to see the purple haired woman fidgeting with her hands, but stood up straight quickly and nervously when she saw me. Suddenly then, I remembered who she was, but…

"Hello there." I cheerfully said, pressing in to see if it was she.

"Oh, h-hi I-I-Ichi-chik-ka!" She stuttered back, in broken Japanese. That was all I needed to hear.

"Hehe…" I remembered the times when she first fought me. It really was the Osakan woman from the highway. "What are you doing here? My parents know you?"

"Q-Quiet…" She angrily muttered under her breath. I heard a small growl from Madoka, as she was glaring at the Osakan lady.

"Be nice, Isamu-san…! Got it?!" She snarled back. I pulled myself back a little and gave a confounded look. Then she turned around, only to show back her grinning face and girly giggles. What the… What's up with her?

"Hey, son. It's so nice to see you!" I heard behind my back. I turned to see my father and mother, both smiling and patting me on the shoulders. I felt warm and welcome in their arms, but it somehow felt cold to the touch. "We've been worried that you've would have never been found!"

"Aww it's nice to be back…!" I said, smiling, but not even sure why. Even throughout my whole life of pain, misery, and trauma, especially caused by my family, I couldn't help but laugh and enjoy the mome-!

"_**AHEM!"**_ **TWITCH _"HEY!"_**

"Errghh! What the…." I thought, as I cringed and grimaced in the terrible pain I just experienced.

"_**Sigh… I can't believe it. Even if you are my vessel, you are still too naïve…"**_

"What…? What are you saying? These people-!"

"_**-Stole all your love away, and your dignity as well. They plan to do the same thing right now! **__**How about I remind you of the 'Purge of Society'?**_ Wake up and face reality!" And a sharp pain was released through my brain and into all of my body. My body felt like needles and axes as blood.

"Aaaarrgghh!" I screeched in total pain, before blacking out.

"_**Now sit and listen, for I'll make the truth clear, and your destiny back on track."**_

_**Present:**_** 10:39AM, April 5****th****, 2032, in the solitary room 1, 5 minutes before:**

**Third Person POV:**

The Orimura's finally has him numbered. The man they have resented in the past, now secretly redeemed back because of his usage in IS, was now managed to be back into the family, but through… secretive illicit ways.

Madoka, instead of a dress, is wearing a suit, much like Chifuyu. She had to look professional, even if she had to bring her own hypnotic helmet with an illusion projection unit for her own 'persuasion. She also had to bring a whole ton of 'insurance' that it will go well: bodyguards with guns aiming at him (but not shooting… yet) **AND** her mother Reimu Orimura, leader of Phantom Task and strongest IS pilot there is, **AND** her father Atsushi Orimura, a strict but gentle counselor in their organization, **AND** two of her younger sisters/child soldiers Chui and Rui, who are cute, but aren't exactly nice to their surroundings (they did want to see him though), **AND** Squall Meusel, co-leader of the Phantom Task just in case things got out of hand (because _Chronos_ had no database and no one knew that this IS existed), **AND** Isamu Horida and her merry, yet rowdy band of terrorists who are the witnesses of the blond man and fought him in the past. **PLUS** she had to sneak a couple of people from the Federal Bureau in order to have the blond man properly signed back into their family. That is a LOT of insurance.

Everyone was being silent around the table and eyeing on the hypnotized blond man, with his eyes being locked and movements on him barely shown, to sign the resignation papers that the Federal Bureau have offered him. Her mother gave an impatient breathing pattern and a small malicious smile, indicating that she's reaching the limit on her patience and that she's excited for the outcome. Her father closed his eyes and mumbled himself something, but no one paid attention. Chui and Rui were both shaking in excitement, as having a new brother will keep them entertained (whatever their entertainment may be). Squall smiled to herself, as a new super-soldier like him would guarantee success in any mission. Horida was just cross-armed and trying not to care, as her terrorists were feeling the opposite: shaking in their uniforms with sweat. Madoka predicted that right now was the coup de grace for him to sign the papers before he became suspicious of the virtual reality and tries to break out. So she seductively went to his ears and whispered:

"_Nii-san, that piece of paper is for you… we'll go on a trip and enjoy our new lives… just the family… No more school, responsibilities, or anything~. It's just the handsome you, with little ol' me~ and the whole family here to relish it... Your girlfriends can come too, you know~. Just sign it, and you'll be on your way to paradise…"_

She then blew a kiss in the man's ear, signaling the hypnotic unit to work its magic. What was happening was electricity generating within the unit and images were fragmented into Tempo's nervous system. The senses made him fool that there was a cake being sliced and served to him and that he was to eat it for good luck and manners, but it would actually be him signing the papers and legalizing him to become their son once again, much to his own dismay.

However, that was not the case.

**Tempo's POV**

"_**Hehe… Madoka-nee, you should've tried harder than that…!"**_ I said, in a grinning smile. I then heard gasps fill the room, and horrified and shocked eyes staring at me. Oh ho ho, this is gonna be fun…!

"W-What… d-did you just say…?" Madoka's voice trailed off as she was in complete shock. "T-T-There's n-no way t-that you c-could b-br-!"

"_**-break out of my brilliant Hypno-helmet Mark IV! It should have been flawless!"**_ I finished her sentence. She gasped again, seeing the worlds repeated right back at her. In all honestly, I hated her voice and what she said back at the virtual reality (VR), and I couldn't believe that she sounded like that still. I stood up, broke the pen that was handed to me and ripped the paper into shreds with no means of slowing down from any regret. The eldest lady in front of me flinched and gasped at my actions. The father did too, but not so much. The rest of the gang just stared at me, but the bodyguards did not. All four of them aimed their machine guns and fired straight at me…

However that was not the case.

"Huh? The guns!" One of them said in irritation as he tried to fire it, but to no avail.

"They're jammed! I can't fire them!" Another one replied and grunted as he meddled with the safety lock and trigger.

"_**Hmph, there's no point to it…"**_ I advised to the bodyguards, who now paid attention to me with strained look through their sunglasses and snarls on their faces. I'm glad Chrono placed a firearm-disabling field over the room. I pulsed energy into the helmet, breaking the connection off from my nervous system and head, and ripping the contraption in half with my bare hands. Everyone was in pure shock, even Madoka-nee, that my brain and nervous system was unscathed. Well, I shouldn't really call her as a sister anymore.

"N-Nii-san…y-you…" Madoka muttered in an exasperated voice, hinting that she was absolutely embarrassed in front of her parents, and absolutely pissed that her Hypno-helmet Mark IV failed to capture a new brother. It was only a matter of time before she snaps.

"_**What's wrong, 'Madorka'?"**_ I teased menacingly at her, with pleasure. Madorka… that one has a nice chime to it… _**"Fufufu… your little hypnosis 'party plan' just pooped before your own slave-driving parents?"**_ The intensity was built to the max, and some intense feelings was being held by the people held in here too. Chui and Rui were pouting angrily, and Squall looked like she was in a combat stance. But mostly, my mother was keeping her cool, but I knew she was fuming inside. Back to Madorka, she didn't waste any time. She materialized a blue-ish silver cannon and aimed at me.

"Die…" She whispered.

"_**Not a chance."**_ I replied.

_**Another Past:**_** 10:21AM, April 5****th****, 2032, back at Classroom 1-1**

**Houki's POV:**

"Fuaaah! I'm back, class!" Yamada-sensei appears at the front door, looking the same cheery self as yesterday. Where was she? "Eh? Where's Tempo-san?"

"You told him to go to a meeting before class started. Orimura-sensei is accompanying him." Aikawa Kiyoki replied.

"Huh?" Yamada scratched her head in confusion. "I didn't tell him that…" Really? Is she that forgetful, or…

"But you were here when you told him to go to the meeting."

"Ehh… before class, I remember that I was heading to class, but then I was approached by men in black suits…" She was trying to think as hard as she can. I honestly thought that she was lying through her teeth, but no one can ignore that innocence. "…Then that's all I remember after that! Ehehehe…"

Everyone was silent. But I'm not just silent…

Black suits…? What do they want with Ichika…? Was it like what happened to me when I was separated from him? I have to know… I can't get separated from him again…

_**Distant Past:**_** 11:25AM, October 2****nd****, 2023 in an armoured security truck:**

_I HATE HER! I HATE HER! I ABSOLUTELY HATE HER! I was crying in the truck, not ever wanting a part in this revolution, but they locked me here in separate trucks, away from my parents. They say it's for security reasons, but I think it's for my sister's own intentions. I don't want to be with her. I don't want to even see her face or hear her name or anything related to her…!_

_I was banging on the walls of the truck, trying to let me out. First they ruin my chances of winning the kendo tournament, and then I wouldn't be able to see my home again. But they crossed the line when they pulled me away from him… my first love…_

"_Houki…!" A muffled voice called and softly rang inside the truck. I opened my teary eyes and looked around, only to spot the back window of the truck._

"_Houki…!" The voice came from the winder. I ran to poke my head towards the truck to see…_

"_ICHIKA!" My tears flowed like a river when I saw him running towards me. He was all tattered and sweaty, but he was still running with his life. He was heavily panting and his eyes were watering with tears as he struggled to reach his hand to the truck._

"_I'M SORRY, HOU-HOUKI!" He cried as he nearly tripped, but still kept running. My tears did stop as he kept going._

"_ICHIKA!" I couldn't say anything else. I wanted to say so many things to him. Ranging from 'I love you,' to 'Don't leave me alone…,' or even 'I don't care about my family legacy, I just want to be with you forever!' It never happened to come out. Until-_

_**SCREEEECH! THUD!**_

_The truck slammed their brakes on full force, as the force sent me on the floor. I also heard a loud thud in front of me. I gasped at the sight in horror as I went to the mirror again as I saw Ichika lying on his back as he have landed a large blow on his head from the truck. Blood was flowing out of his nose and tears welled from his eyes._

"_Ichika…"_

_**VROOOOOOOM!**_

_The truck started again at full throttle, leaving dust on its trail. Ichika was shrinking on the road. I didn't want to leave him. But he tried to lift his hand towards me, as if he didn't give up. I tried to give my hand to him, but I couldn't because of the window. The bloodstain on the window was the only thing that made me not want to die. I was left heartbroken… and I never told him that I love him, more than anything. The infinite sadness finally overcame me…_

"_ICHIKAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

_**Another Present:**_ **10:23AM, April 5****th****, 2032, in Classroom 1-1**

"Well, if anyone wants to volunteer to check up on him, that will be certainly be-!" That phrase made almost all the girls jump with their hands up. I was included in the mix, and… well, let's just say all of us volunteered to go. But I had more reason than anyone.

_**Later: **_**10:42AM, April 5****th****, 2032, just outside the solitary room 1:**

Sigh, Ichika… I can't stop thinking about him… After all that has been done… I wonder how he's doing in that room…

_**KABOOM**_

An explosion appeared out of nowhere, right in front of the large group of girls, and blasted the walls. Red energy was guzzling around the area until it cleared. All the girls screamed. I just flinched from the surprise. In the midst of the explosion was a man with blond hair, holding up a materialized gear-shaped shield, with a clock face.

"Tempo-san?!" I exclaimed. Many gasped from seeing him fighting… IN THE SCHOOL!

"_**Huh?! What are you doing here at this time?!"**_ He replied back when he saw us in shock, but another beam of energy was fired towards him in a flash. Many of us screamed again and tried to move back, but most of us tripped and fell. Tempo shielded the shot; this time though the shot disappeared and faded in Tempo's shield instead of exploding. He then turned to us with golden mustard eyes, filled with concern. _**"Now's your chance! It's dangerous here!"**_

"Tempo-kun!" Yamada-sensei, obviously not listening, ran up to him and gave a big angry huff. "Why are you causing all this destruction?! Stop this instant!" W-What? How can she jump to that conclusion? But then another explosion appeared, and she snapped out of it, by cowering behind me.

**Tempo's POV**

"_**Hmph, you're all the same…"**_ I muttered. It pisses me off so much that people can't see the truth in front of them. I then pulled out my pocket watch, launched it in the air and summoned _Chronos_ in a flash of light and on my side. If one of my unknown destinies is to fight, then I'll willingly accept that.

"Idiot Nii-san!" Madoka cried bearishly as she charged at me with a beam gunblade in her hand. Immediately, I used my **[Soul Shackles]** on my arm, and chains of light lashed out on her. She got caught and I flung her to the other side of the hallway, trying my best not to destroy the walls. The girls were still in shock from what is happening, but now Yamada-sensei realizes what is happening. Ugh, thank you for realizing…

"Dyne-san! What's going on?!" Houki asked me in a loud concerning voice.

"_**It's a welcome party! What does it look like?!"**_ I replied. I couldn't really care much for the other girls in the class. I couldn't care much for Yamada-sensei. But I did care for Houki… or at least I'm doing it for his sanity.

Suddenly, two more IS launched at me with beam katanas with lengths shorter than the average. Chui and Rui, with angered faces and temper, are riding their own IS, both in pink colour. _**"Child soldiers…? You can't be serious!"**_ I said as I grabbed both of their katana handles before they could reach me. Somehow their strength as children were incredibly large, as they got me sliding towards the wall…

"Onii-chaaaaaan…!" Chui growled angrily, as she struggled in vain with her beam katana.

"Y-You disgraceful…!" Rui growled angrily as well. This wasn't their day to have that many sweets.

"_**And I thought they were cute… I guess not!"**_ I muttered to myself as I pushed them away. I guess my head really did hit hard in the 'party'. I then saw a flash of energy approaching to my left, and immediately knowing whom it was.

"Hahahaha! You're toast, Ichika!" Madoka's voice echoed in the hallway, reaching to me faster than the shot. That naïve girl…

"_**[Chronos-Void Level 1]!"**_

**Third Person POV**

…

"No kaboom?" Madoka muttered in her breath. She looked up and, to her horror, saw her [Star Cannon] charge shot was being absorbed in a dark sphere. The sphere looked like a small black hole, sucking in the energy until there was nothing left. What she also saw was Chui and Rui knocked out on the side, in a daze and left on the side of the floor.

"_**Sorry, no death today."**_ Tempo sneered at Madoka, still shocked at what _Chronos_ can do. He can block any of her shots, have a light saber, create chains out of his arm and summon black holes… and judging from his sneer, Madoka looked as though she was outmatched. But then his expression changed, from a sneer to a straight face, and dematerialized his IS. The flash of light disappeared and Tempo held his golden pocket watch tightly. This confused Madoka. Why would he…?

"What did I say about leaving me out of your little schemes…?" A dreadful and threatening snarl came from behind Madoka. The dark aura that crept violently along the hallways made Madoka shake in her own machine and had the guts to turn her head around. Everyone also shuddered from the ferocity behind Madoka, except Tempo, in which he knew it was coming. How? The power of foresight!

"Ehehe… Chifuyu-oneesan~… What a surprise...? Hehehe…" Madoka comfortably, yet with extreme nervousness, talked in her usual tone. She was trembling like an earthquake, and is scuttling away very, very, very slowly… Tempo smirked, because of the outcome that will ensue.

"Don't make me break you… or turn you inside out…!" Chifuyu revealed her glinting demonic eyes and fangs, and screamed a war cry and a "Get back here!" as she chased Madoka down the hallway. The girl screamed and tried to fly away with her IS, but her vast speed is barely able to keep up with Chifuyu's ungodly speed on her heels. She made a sharp turn on her left and-

"_**Huh?"**_ Dyne didn't believe it, but… Madoka flew into the solitary room and out a gaping hole that just appeared. Chifuyu stopped at her tracks and growled at the damage that has been done. _**"Didn't think they would do that. For once I didn't see it coming…"**_ Tempo thought. Maybe his powers really were fading fast…

_**SLAP**_

"YOU BIG IDIOT!" The demonic sister scolded with such a harsh tone after delivering a blow on Dyne's cheek and him landing on the floor on all 4s. She has been through many accidents, but never this one this large. A giant hole in the wall, a wrecked solitary room, a broken door, a near-broken wall, and minor scrapes and drags. Tempo can't really catch a break, can he?

**Tempo's POV**

"Sigh… so much for family…" I sighed as I was kneeling before Chifuyu as she kept hitting me with notebooks. Luckily, no signs of bruising, so thanks, Chrono! What was she hitting me for: the damage I've done… But I swear that this is not my doing! When I looked at my right, I saw some snickering from the girls in front. I can tell this is them seeing 'how barbaric I can be'. But what they didn't know is that Madoka and the family started it…

"LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! DIDN'T YOU READ THE RIGHTS YOU WERE GIVEN?! I OUGHT TO HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR THIS!" She kept going and going on about what I have done with the damages and that my human rights weren't totally applicable with the punishment I was gonna receive. Oh right, I forgot. The world changed tipped too much on its scaling that even some of our rights as men are abolished to make room for female society. I sighed, and hated this place even more…

**_"[REWIND]!"_** I raised my hand and snapped my fingers. Instantly, my energy flowed out and joined along with the windows and walls. In retrograde motion, the pieces and the textures suddenly flowed back to its original form. Everything was as it should be 1 hour ago… and my body wasn't so sure it would agree…

"Oh, umm…" Chifuyu was staring around her, everything neat and tidy, shocked on what happened. The girls were even more so, but their mood changed to a swoon. Houki was giving an awed face as she saw the windows repair themselves. But I didn't get any other credit from anyone else. If fact, today I didn't want any.

"Ugh…" I couldn't stand it… I just got up and walked to the mess hall for an early lunch; ignoring the stares and comments and Orimura's demand for me to stay, and not even grabbing my books and bags for next class. What was I thinking, helping these… these… these 'insignificant humans'? I help them and I avert their crisis… and they go and backlash at me… what's with this world…?

**_"So… what destiny will it be?"_**

"What do you want?" I wasn't in the mood.

**_"It's your answer I want. Do you wish to side with these foolish humans? Or live you life… as the man with freedom?_**

"You mean, the destroyer of all…" I've known him long enough to see what he's wanting.

**_"Nonsense. It's the power of a judge, to bring judgment down on the strong and bring the world back to its current state."_**

"I don't know yet… I need to know more."

**_"Sigh… how long? It's getting impatient on my time here on this rock!"_**

"At least… until the tournament is over." I told him as I got my lunch from the mess hall.

**_"Alright, suit yourself, Ichika Orimura…"_**

"I promise I'll give you an answer soon, Dyne Tempo…"

* * *

**SUSPENSE! Not really, but now you can tell that Ichika's pegged about something. :P Anyway, I'm grateful for all the reviews I've been getting :D but I'm hungry for ****moar. More reviews, favourites and followers, the more confident I'll be! :3**


	6. Chapter 5: The Clash Part 1

**I did warn you about me taking a long time to write these stuff down. Anyway, hello guys it's Irate here! And I'm not a writer! Not a skilled one! So it'll be hard for me to implement a darkish theme. And I don't know where this story will go so it's hard on me already. Plus school.**

**Anyway, Infinite Stratos does not belong to me. *cries***

* * *

_**Past:**_** 9:32AM, April 3****rd****, 2032, just outside the Japan National Security gate:**

_**Finally… I can't stand another hour in that place! Many people wailing one time, then another time is overwhelming silence. Then the analysis part where they do testing on you, no matter how dangerous! Then you're stuffed back in. What world does this to such a being…?**_

"_Hey kid, over here!" The chubby, mustached chauffeur of the limo called as Elna and Aoi, my 'assigned' bodyguards, lead me to the interior, which looked like a small living room with one row of leather seats that surround the room. Inside was a little opening at the driver's seat, so I was guessing that the mustached driver loves talking to passengers. I hesitated because of what they have told me before, but my body forced myself inside._

_The engine started and off we went, away from the dreaded place that had me locked up. It felt like solitary confinement and there was barely any silence… I was trying to reflect the past, and the many events that have happened. But through the noise of the prisoners in the National Security prison, most of them who have been broken down or traumatized, it's completely deteriorating for me. I felt as though I can trust myself… and only myself…_

"_Ahh~ Tempo-kun! How did you get your hair so long?!" A voice came to me. Apparently, it was Aoi's voice when she looked at me with her pink eyes and hearty smile, and having her hands caressing my long hair. She had pink hair tied up into a ponytail on its side, and she was wearing the same type of suit today. Her partner, Elna, was more into the silent get-up, only to have olive green short hair kept flimsy and her scary eyes kept at the window._

"…" _I just stared at her. I don't know how it got that long… I also frowned, and she took notice from the frown._

"_Aww, why so glum, chum?" She smiled wider and looked at me, as her hands stopped weaving through the long hair. I swear I'll have to cut it shorter._

"…"_Another blank stare. I really had nothing to say to her. But she kept smiling and leaned towards me._

"_Sigh, you really are silent to everyone, aren't you?" She smiled cheekily towards me, as if she was asking me to do something. I just looked away; trying to hide my inner screaming from the prison they kept me in, but also keeping… my outer face to them._

"_Sh-Shut up…" I weakly replied as I flushed my face, only to have her giggle in front of me. I hate it when they laugh at me…_

"_Hmph… you really are weak." Elna suddenly spoke up in an irritating tone, as she looked at me with her cold olive eyes. If I looked harder, I saw a vein of anger bulging on her forehead. Her frown combined with her sharp look towards me was a good combo to scare someone shitless. "Giving a weak answer only reflects who you are."_

"_Wh-What?" She just gave a small scoff then proceeded to look at me with mocking eyes. What's her problem?_

"_Hmph… Why do they always keep resisting? There's no way you can win…" She muttered._

"_What are you implying?"_

"_I can tell from your intentions. You're going to change the world? Don't make me laugh!" She was raising her voice and her eyes started to narrow and harden with some sort of hatred._

"_Egh… b-but…" I tried to figure out what to argue back to her, but nothing seemed to come._

"_It's a worthless struggle. Relish it…" She spoke the last phrase in a soft and prideful, but threatening voice, as her head closed in on me as close to an inch. Her eyes felt as sharp as two tacks towards my eyes. I tried to keep a 'frightened face' showing to her eyes… a fake façade… _

'_I'm not afraid of you…' My thoughts said._

_But Aoi tried to shrug it off from me, but she was nervous for some reason._

"_Oh don't mind her, she just says those things to people all the time~! Ehehe~!_

_**SMACK**_

"_Shut up, Aoi-chan! Don't make him look down on us!" Elna snarled in her voice as she viciously slapped Aoi on the cheek. She was reeling backwards from the pain. _

"_Hey, Elna! Take that back!" Aoi ordered in an angered, stern manner, but with a hint of politeness. " You're never this angry to anybod-!"_

"_You just shut your trap! This has nothing to do with you!" Elna shouted back, in a heartless manner. She was pretty much peeved… all because of me? What did I ever do? What the hell was the matter with them to me?! I clenched my fist and my brows furrowed behind Elna. I do this when I don't know what is wrong. Obviously these two pisses me off through their needless bantering just as much as I piss them off for some strange reason (more on Elna than Aoi, but I'm the one to judge)._

"…" _Keep your façade, Ichika. Keep it up… Just another half an hour…_

_The window compartment opened from the wall that separated this room to the driver's seat. The chauffeur's voice could be heard, him being a little concerned. "Hey, is everything alright back there?"_

"_YOU SHUT YOUR TRAP TOO!" Elna screamed back at him with much hate. Aoi, the chauffeur and I were shocked from the change of tone she had. I felt the limo suddenly get parked to the side and to a sudden stop. There was only silence, until a door was slammed shut a second ago and in another 2 seconds, the door opened to reveal the chauffeur, with quite an angry look on his face._

"_I didn't sign up to take insults from a tramp like you!" He said in a rough Japanese language. His face looked furrowed with angry eyes and gritting teeth. It just screams anger. It felt nice that someone finally stood up. "Even though you women can jus' go around bossin' us around, well you got another thing comin'!"_

"_Hmph! Just shut up and drive, old man!" She snarled back at him. The chauffeur, being all gruff and buff, snarled back at her with a scowl. But then she puffed her chest with pride, as she just let it go. But that pride turned into a menacing smile as she took out what I thought she was going to take out._

"_Or have you forgot your place, old man?" A gun, more like a 44-caliber revolver, was aimed towards the chauffeur. Aoi covered her hands in shock and widened eyes staring at the sweating man._

_But he stood his place, even though he flinched at the barrel pointing at him. "T-There's no w-way I'll t-take orders f-f-from you!" He managed to rebuke back at her. I then knew what I had to do. She pulled the trigger and fired._

_**BANG!**_

What did he ever do to you…? What was his crime for that death sentence…? Such foolishness… Somehow, someday… I will bring judgment to you… and your kind!

_**Present:**_** 10:06AM, April 6****th****, 2032, at the ISA Arena:**

Huh? Another memory… and it was about the limo ride… I'm sorry, Chauffeur-san. I felt like shedding a tear, for the man who was one of the few who stood up for them and for what they believe in against the dominating force, but-.

"**Dyne Tempo! Please enter through the doors towards the arena!"** The P.A. announcement appeared as noise through the launch area, as I was already suited in the golden _Chronos_, my personal IS. The doors opened with piercing light and it painted scenery through flashes of colour of a bare coliseum area, with a bright blue sky with clouds, and rows of seats surrounding the arena grounds.

As I stepped out, I looked outside, but with much pressure. On my left were the students of class 1-1, all with looking with awe and shock. Have they not seen a personal IS before? On my right were the control tower and the announcer screen. The control tower was where the authorities and teachers analyze the fighting styles and the competition between the two pilots. I already know that Chifuyu-san is inside that tower, but so is Yamada-sensei. I looked in front of me to see the arrogant England representative, acting high and mighty with her blue IS, but she was also shocked from seeing my IS, and went into scanning me in no time at all. The blue IS was in fact very 'blue', as the colour reminded me of sorrow; one feeling I always had within me when I was young. The wings looked like blue scissor-blades pointing downward, but I knew they weren't for cutting. The legs look bulky, but it had to be for a reason.

"_Master, I'm done scanning the opponent's IS. That is __**[Blue Tears]**__, a sniper class 3__rd__ generation IS."_ Chrono informed to me in my thoughts. _"Designed to take out multiple opponents from a medium-long distance. Be careful."_

"Thanks." That sort of brightened up the pre-battle a little.

"Tempo-kun!" A voice came from the intercommunications unit as a screen of Yamada's face appeared on a hologram screen. "Explain to us! Why is your IS core unregistered?!"

Oh right, forgot to tell them. "My IS has not been created by Tabane-san. That's why, I guess…" Suddenly, Chifuyu's face appeared on the hologram, looking stern as always.

"T-Then where did you get it? Who's mass-producing it?" Her voice was frantic, but I cannot tell her.

"_**Crafted by the gods themselves…"**_

"Huh? Didn't catch that, Tempo-kun!" Huh? She heard me mutter?

"Uhh, nothing!" I immediately cut off the communications, and turned to face the competitor. I couldn't bear to let them hear that… Ehehehe~…

"Umm, _Chronos_…?" She muttered in her breath as she said the name of my IS, though it was enough to hear her. "Why can't I find information on it?!"

"You can't." I simply said. "That's all there is and all that you should know."

"Well then…" She simply huffed as she turned off her scan. "I'll give you one last chance to back down, or else!" Arrogance at its finest…

"I won't back down! You insulted _him_… and now you'll pay!"

…is what I wanted to say, but I couldn't being myself to tell her. I simply drew my clock-faced gear-shaped shield in front of me as if it was a fighting stance. Then suddenly:

"**Warning! Enemy IS has entered firing mode!"**

That flashed to me as a warning, saying that Cecilia is about to fire the first shot. She materialized her _**[Blue Pierce]**_, her sniper rifle and opened fire at me. The lasers she shot were easily deflected by my _**[Clockwork Shield]**_, but I had no capabilities to fight back, since I had no ranged attacks.

"_Master! Hurry and use the boosters to get to her!"_ Chrono instructed (I asked her to instruct me, since she nearly ditched me last time!). I activated the boosters, but they weren't very fast, compared to other IS's. It took a good second before I was able to reach her position. She kept firing, but I had my shield up, and now I took out my _**[Knightblade]**_ to slash at her. But she simply hopped upwards to dodge my attack.

"Hmph! Not good enough!" The shots fired again from above this time. I kept my shield atop and none of the shots made it past my defenses and to me. But I can't just keep turtling all day if she keeps moving away from me.

"_Master! You have enough energy now from the laser shots! Use the __**[Shield Battery]**__ for powering up your __**[Knightblade]**__!"_ Chrono cried to me. Oh, I forgot about that! I placed the bottom handle of the blade on top of my shield. I felt energy rush into my blade, as it extended and flared violently in my hand is if it was a giant blazing torch. I looked at Cecilia, who was in a little shock of the spectacle. But not before sending her four optical BIT drones in the shape of fangs at me, going at rapid-fire paces towards me.

"Nice spectacle, but you'll dance in the glory of _**[Blue Tears]**_!" She remarked with a proud tone. The BITs began firing, but they wouldn't hurt me with my shield in the way. I readied my blade and cried the codename:

"_**[RAIN]**_!"

I slashed the air with my flaring blade, and with it created four projections of _**[Knightblade]**_ in the air, as it was made in stop-motion picturing. The blades then fired away in different zig-zagging streams of light in a split second. The BITs were destroyed by the projections, as the pieces flew to the ground. Cecilia was bewildered by the sight, but didn't back away nonetheless. But the swords didn't stop, as they continued to meet their target: Cecilia's wings. She finally started to move quickly, but the swords homed in and impaled her wings, unable for her to take flight any longer.

"W-Whoaaa!" She cried as she plummeted downwards into the ground, her flight disabled. A cloud of dust buffeted her as she crash-landed.

"_My master, she has reached down to 20 points of energy out of 600."_ Chrono told me in an informational voice, but her voice is out in the open. _"Shall we deliver the coup de grace?"_

I gave that question some thought. I really don't want to have the candidate spot, but she-

**THROB**

Erghhh…! H-Hey, you aren't going to…?

_**I did vow to her that she would suffer! Don't you remember that part?**_

"Ouch! H-How did you do that?! No mere IS can do that!" She cried as she climbed back up from the crater that she has made. It was true; out of all the IS's I've seen that used abilities that defied the laws of physics, but mine… mine just screams godlike powers and fanatical creation of metaphysics. But that secret information was mine alone.

"You wouldn't know even if you tried!" I forced myself to say as I charged to her. However I wasn't going to scream it out. I was dead set on proving it to her through battle. My boosters then went full throttle towards the blue IS, reaching twice as fast as last time. Cecilia was still holding on to her face, still in shock that an IS like mine can evolve more higher than hers. My blade was ready and I felt everything was assured, ready to crush my opponent from the sky. Until…

_**RATATATATATATATATAT!**_

Bullets fired from behind where I was pelted. I immediately made a nosedive to the arena grounds level to avoid the firing range, but the bullets seemed to follow. I turned to see as I was continue to maneuver my flight, only to see three more IS join the fray of the fight.

"W-What the…?" I muttered as I kept trying to swerve along the ground and kept to a low height. Two of the IS were holding machine guns, trying to fire at me with sprays. They looked like _**[Raphael Revive]**_ models that looked like the ones in magazines, in the colour scheme of a military green. The middle was a custom model of _**[Uchigane]**_ (I know these common mass-produced models by heart, thanks to Chrono), as it looked like it had a long katana, with extra boosters and a carbine of missiles on its shoulder.

The pilot in the _**[Uchigane]**_, who was instigating the attack on me though…

No way…

"Elna…?" I whispered. Never thought she would actually do this…

_**Past:**_** 10:12AM, April 3****rd****, 2032, outside on the highway:**

_The cars cluttered over to have their eyes on the scene. A man… or chauffeur to be exact… shot directly at the forehead outside in the middle of the highway. Shot by whom? The very person in front of me was who._

"_There, that ought to teach you some manners, kid…" She snarled. Her face had a smudge of blood on her chin, but she licked it as though she desired more blood. I just stood there shocked, but growing more enraged by the minute. What kind of person does this to a man? He hasn't done anything wrong…_

"_E-Elna! Why did you do that?!" Aoi's face grew distressed. Her eyes widened with fear, but concern for her bloodthirsty friend._

"_I told you to shut up, Aoi…!" Elna's eyes grew dangerous as the revolver then turned to her, still in the limo, but up on her seat. Aoi shook in fear, as she started to back away. This scared me. Not the danger… but the look on Aoi's face… _

_That innocent feeling… about to die from someone she trusted… I was frozen in fear… until-_

_**[Soul Shackles]**__!_

_**LASH**_

_The chains lashed on her body from my partially materialized Chronos. She turned her head to see me infuriated from what has happened. The revolver she had on her hand dropped from the squeeze, and Aoi's face lightened up a little, but still frightened. The people outside looked surprised at the sight. A man with the arm of an IS that they have never seen before._

"_**Leave."**__ The chains tightened on her body as I began to throw her to a nearby car. She went, head first, towards the direction of a window of the passenger seat. The crowd was simply stunned at what they saw. But I did hear a 'Yeah! Go beat her up!' somewhere._

"_AUUGGHH!" She screamed in agony as she crashed. Her body looked like she went limp for a second, but twitched in pain as she struggled to get out. As she got out, her face was bloodied with scars and cuts. She looked like she had her right eye cut. But she was still angry as ever. "MY EYE!" She cried as she put her hand over her eye. "I'll… I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" She shrieked._

"_**I'll like to see you try."**__ I shrugged her off and flew away, not caring anymore. She'll get her justice soon. I like to see her try…!_

_**Present:**_** 10:13AM, April 6****th****, 2032, outside on the arena:**

Damn… the bullets are getting annoying. Aren't the officials doing something about this? I turned on my intercommunications to contact Yamada-sensei and Houki, but…

"Why won't it connect?!" I yelled in a quiet tone, as I was trying to get into contact, while dodging bullets. Elna then readied her katana and rushed towards me. I stopped where I was and dodged the katana to the right, narrowly having the blade touch my armour. She then went for a horizontal slash, but I blocked it with my shield as we came face to face. Boy, was she pissed off!

"Y-You ruined my face…!" She cried, as the eye patch on her right side of her face proves it. She was hell bent on cutting me to bits, as she was gripping the handle with much force.

"Tsk… why did you shoot him?" I asked, getting more irritated by her from the past incident. "What did he ever do to you that even threatens to take his life?!" I thrust my shield to shove away her katana, but the bullets were still shooting at me. I tried to maneuver away from them, as Elna got back up with her katana ready.

"_Master!"_ Chrono came up, with news. _"I've established a link to the control tower and… you might not be surprised…!"_ She pulled up a screen as I saw Yamada-sensei and Chifuyu, still in the room. But the look on Chifuyu was sinister.

"O-Orimura-san!" Yamada desperately tried to get the attention of Chifuyu, but to no avail. "You're just gonna sit there and watch him get beaten?!" The smile got even wider on Chifuyu's face.

"I was waiting for this day… There's no way a wimp like him can beat those hunters I've hired." Chifuyu snickered. "They are A-class, after all…" Tsk… figures why I'm not so surprised…

"_What are we gonna do, Master…?"_ Chrono shuddered as I blocked another blow from Elna, and was about to receive a blow on the shoulder.

"You're MINE!" She screamed, as she was huffing with anger, as the other two pilots kept firing at me. I don't know what to do… I-I…

**THROB**

**Houki's POV**

I ran towards the stadium, where the fight was being held. I cared for Ichika, even if he went by the same name. As I reached light there were those rogue pilots still firing at Ichika and his IS, and Cecilia can do nothing since she was close to being out of IS energy. But as I saw, the _**[Uchigane]**_ pilot was about to slam him with her katana, but-

**GRASP**

W-What? H-He grabbed the katana just like… like how he did it to me…

**Normal POV**

"_**Hehehe…"**_ Dyne chuckled in his breath as he was grasping the blade with one of his gauntlets. _**"Don't take me for a fool just yet…"**_ He mentioned to Elna in a smooth, but menacing voice. Elna wasn't too pleasant upon hearing the voice.

"W-What?"

**SNAP!**

The katana that he was grasping on was gripped and snapped in two with ease. Elna backed away in shock as she let go of the handle. The two pilots then took aim again and fired with sprays towards Dyne, but he held up his two palms facing forwards and open and yelled:

"_**[BLAST]**_!"

Two blasts of wind conjured up and fired towards the pilots. The bullet sprays were knocked off course while the blast overcame the two pilots, enough for them to drop their guns and stagger them.

"_**[2 O'CLOCK MEMORY COMMAND]**_!" was his next command. The clock face on his shield turned as if it was a natural clock. The hour hand stopped at the 2, and data conjured up into the gauntlet of _Chronos_. It was a golden cannonade rifle, like Cecilia's but larger, and aimed at the staggering pilots.

_**[Chronos-'Sta****r**_ **_Cannon']_**and I was ready to take them out, like how I should've done so.

* * *

**PAAAAAART 1 :D**

**Okay okay I know that _Chronos_ can be a little overpowered, but it's about the state of mind that is used in the battle, like if it's Ichika or Dyne using the IS would spell either a good fight or a torturous massacre to everyone. But hey, at least it's an update, right?**


	7. Chapter 6: The Clash Part 2

**Hello again, readarrrz :3 Irate here with another part of The Clash! :D Sorry if I'm lengthening the fight scenes, but the information is just piling up that it's the perfect time to show you guys.**

**Honestly, I didn't enjoy making this chapter, because of the fight separated into 3 parts (yes it's in three parts -.- ) and that Dyne could be a little... OOC at the beginning, but I honestly wanted to add some character to him towards Ichika. I just wanted to clarify how Dyne works with Ichika as an alter ego, or personality. But that's enough talk, get with the Infinite Stratos! It doesn't belong to me either!**

**EDIT: AAAUUUGGGHHH I'M SO STEWPID DX WHY WHY WHY WHYWHYWHYWHYWHY**

***ahem* Uhh I accidentally put in a rough draft instead of the final copy of this chapter *guilt***

** please forgive meee...**

* * *

_**Past:**_** April 5****th****, 2032, in an unknown realm and time:**

_**This world we live in… from the once pure and innocent, is now filled with the heavy sins of humankind. As I foresaw the upcoming events in the distant future, they would have spelled the world to end in complete disaster. But now… I feel that there is no choice, but that it's time to make a decision…**_

_CLACK! __**"Come on, show more aggression when fighting!"** CLACK! CLACK! WHACK!_

_The wooden swords were clashing against each other out in the open. I was standing there in a kendo robe, holding a wooden sword with two hands, sweaty in their grip. In front of me was my sparring partner, against my golden-haired… ummm… 'soul-mate' Dyne. He held his own wooden sword with one hand, but he had a soft look on his face as he was parrying every attack with ease. His eyes though tell me that he's serious. "I would be, but that's not how I fight!" I whined back at him. He then sighed and lowered his sword to his side. He can't deny that it was true._

"_**Ergh… you plan to stick with your tactics…?"**__ He said, as he scratched his head with much disappointment. __**"I can't really say how we're going to synergize well…"**_

_I could only scratch my head in much disgrace, as I threw away the sword and turned into thin air. Dyne did the same with his wooden sword, and both of us went to the edge and sat down, admiring the outdoor feel._

_When I first met Dyne… or when he first met me, he showed me the ways of kendo and swordplay. From the basics to the ways of (a few) masters throughout history, like the simple slash on certain points of the body, to grasping the blade in a perfect clasp and grip without getting any of your hands cut. It was long and gruelling, but in this... dream-like reality, days here would feel like an hour back at reality. I never thought that I would grow towards him, as we both took a break and gazed out in the open._

_The scenery… it spread out all around Dyne and I as awestruck surroundings… the open roof of a clock tower, high above the clouds and in the sky. I looked below to see a massing sea of white clouds and if I looked harder, the blue sea of the Earth. The sun shined down on the back of my head, heating my black hair shorter than a bowl cut. As I took a look at Dyne, he had long golden hair outstretched up to his kneecaps in this realm, instead of in reality where it was shortened by me. His golden eyes looked different than mine; a fierce outlook with a sense of… justice._

_After moments of silence, I took a sigh and sat up. "The first week has past by and we already gotten ourselves into a fight…"_

"_**Hmph! She's gonna have it coming…"**__ Dyne just scoffed and replied back. The softness disappeared when he huffed and was filled with determination. __**"The English really have no respect, you know."**_

"_I know that, but at least show mercy…?" I nearly looked down to see the sights, but I felt Dyne's hand rest on my shoulder, but with a firm grip._

"_**The world isn't nice, Ichika. Why should we be?"**__ He reminded me, with a guilty smile plastered on his pale face. Those painful past tortures and heartbreaks were what he was referring to as 'the world'. I could only turn to him in disgust._

"_So? At least don't kill her!" I tried to tell him not to. Even though Dyne came into living as another soul alongside mine, all he could think about was… well, on more negative motives. It doesn't really surprise me though, especially after everything I've been through._

"_**Eh, no guarantees." **__He shrugged and continued to look to the open sky. __**"Besides, you're fighting the English princess this time, are you not?"**_

_Oh, that's right. "Can Chrono help me out at least? Not like last time when she didn't communicate to me with that fist-fighting lady..." I felt ashamed by saying that, but I didn't know why. But after I said that phrase, a cloud of data appeared and-_

_**BONK**_

_Ow…!_

"_Ahem, Master Ichika." Chrono tried to act cool and unconvinced when she arrived to both of us in a surprise entrance (i.e. landing on top of my head). "For the third time, I haven't ditched you in that fight! I was only scanning her IS!" She suddenly tried to overreact to the phrase I said a few seconds back._

"_Yeah, sure…" I just responded back, easing the pain off my head. Chrono then softened up and gave a (^.^) face at me._

"_**Anyway, Chrono, is it ready?"**__ Dyne asked._

"_Yes, Master Tempo!" Chrono gave a fierce nod, and then she did something that I have not seen before. She materialized herself and foamed around Dyne's hands. Soon, a golden cannon, with a star face on the front, emerged from his hands. I could only stare in astonishment, but also wonder… didn't I see that cannon before?_

"_Wh-Whoa!" I didn't think Chronos had this power. Dyne then spun the huge cannon around with just his finger by the trigger, then aimed and fired in front of him. The blast emerged was a fearsome red energy laser that zoomed ahead to the sky. The blast exploded far off in the distance, painting the blast zone red._

"_**Surprised?"**__ Dyne said as the cannon disintegrated into data to form back into Chrono._

"_Where did you get that?" I asked._

"_**Copied from the 'scary' Madorka and her dorky IS!"**__ Dyne replied mockingly as it followed up with a laugh. Chrono only sighed, as I did too._

"_Master, you need to learn consideration." Chrono made a (=.=) face at Dyne, but he brushed it off._

"_**Oh, Chrono, you know I always consider you!"**__ Dyne tried to act cool. But then he serious'd up and looked at me with a face of a commander. __**"Keep an eye on him in battle, will you?"**__ Dyne smiled as he got up. He sure is sporadic…_

"_Will do!" Chrono opened its compartment and out came a robotic hand. It gave a salute and it only made Dyne smile a little more. I sweat-dropped a little from the enthusiasm. _

"_**Hey, what's with the look, Ichika?"**__ Dyne looked at me with my sweat-dropped look._

"_Ehh, nothing!" I looked away. "It's just that you two act really close together."_

"_**Heh… priceless look as always."**__ Dyne said. He enjoyed himself a small laugh, but then suddenly-_

_**GONG GONG GONG!**_

_The sound of large bells has rung the air. The sky was turning a deep orange, then purple. As I turned, the sun was going down, and the moon was about to arise. What this means: it's nighttime here, but morning has arisen in reality._

"_**Before you wake up, Ichika,"**__ Dyne asked me in last second before I was about to jump. Jumping off the tower and down to the shallow Earth… was a kick-start back into waking up. __**"If you're in trouble, I'll have to intervene. Don't want our IS to have an empty vessel!"**_

_I could only nod and smile, as I jumped down into the black abyss past the clouds…_

…and now I should've realized this, but… he was going to take control of me anyway. But is it really right… right for us to shove someone down to hell now? And for justification from what she only just said…? Cecilia… she had better watch herself.

_**Present:**_** 10:13AM, April 6****th****, 2032, in the midst of the brawl at the Arena:**

The _**[Chronos-'Star Cannon']**_ homed its lock-on feature that targeted the two IS models, and fired a crimson laser. One of the IS took a direct hit, while the other dodged out of the way, but only obtaining a minor scrape on the leg.

"_**How's that for trying, ladies?"**_I simply smiled smugly. They acted like targets for me to shoot. Such stupidity.

Suddenly, the communications opened up to see Chifuyu's face, now looking even more surprised and fearful. What's she shocked about?

"Dyne! What is the meaning of this?!" She shouted through the screen. "How are you able to get the _**[Silver Zephyr]**_'s _**[Star Cannon]**_? No possible IS can steal weaponry from another personal IS!" Amateurs…

"_**Oh what was that? Can't hear you over the sound of me gunning!"**_ I only joked as I kept firing the cannon to the two IS, now taking more direct hits than pure scrapes and lucky dodges. _**"Really, is it THAT painful to see these pilots go?"**_

"T-That's enough! You won't get off so easil-!" Chifuyu kept giving me warnings, but she's shaking a little… Nah, she can't be! I gave myself a little laugh to shake it off then closed the intercommunications. I had enough of her bullshit anyway…

The 'targets', finally blasted a numerous amount of times, fell to the ground with barely any energy left. Not only that, but the pilots themselves was also bruised and badly damaged everywhere. I turned my head to see Elna, shocked and frightened by the sheer power of _Chronos._

"_**What's your problem?"**_ I asked with a smile, acting like nothing happened. But I then pressed on. _**"Weren't you going to destroy me because of your face? Like… oh right! How your boss sent you and those people to annihilate me?"**_ She was hard-pressed and her breaths were starting to quicken, but she didn't waste a moment to strike again, this time aiming her carbine of missiles on her shoulder to me. But firing at a close range?

"W-Why can't you just shut up?!" She screamed at me and fired a salvo of missiles at the proximity of 10 feet towards the smug me. But I already knew what my next plan was.

"_**[Age of Ice]**_!" I commanded, and I slashed my sword in the air. The air was chilled down to the absolute zero and the missiles flew past me in such chill that they simply landed on the ground unchanged. I felt the gasping of the audience tingle with every sudden action I do, and even more from my opponents and the watchers from the tower.

**Chifuyu's POV**

"J-Just how powerful is that IS?!" I kept gaping in awe and staring in bewilderment as each sudden move and action Dyne and his IS did overthrew every single attack, whether it was from guns or swords. It… it was just impossible for anyone to fight so seamlessly for anyone that isn't an Orimura! But is he really my brother…? I gripped my fist tightly, so smitten out of rage that it drew blood, and one side of the command board was seemingly smashed and pounded by me. "It couldn't be him! It couldn't be his skills! It's just the IS, that's all!" I kept yelling at myself to convince me of that fact, but my body still couldn't accept it.

"Please, Orimura-san! Calm down!" Yamada tried to compose me, but to no avail. She tried every method, but nothing can calm me from the rage I had for my brother. I shoved her away and kept unleashing my anger at the image of my brother utilizing the golden IS, mocking my every character.

"How?! I, the pilot of _**[Brunhilde]**_, was trained to do this! Yet how does he do it like me without the poured sweat, blood and tears?!"

_**Past:**_** 4:34PM, June 4****th**** to December 21****st****, 2021, at the Orimura household's large backyard:**

_Training… everyday, after a lengthy run, hearty breakfast, extreme kendo and weight training, large lunch and training with the model battle suit Tabane gave me. That was my routine during the days, regardless of rain, sun or snow._

_Training… where intense doesn't even match the description of my run. Whenever I take the early-morning run, it would be up the 10,000 steps up towards the temple, then down 3 times, while carrying two sacks over my shoulders, holding ten 60-pound dumbbells. Once my breakfast is down, the kendo dolls were reinforced with steel and the weights usually go by 100s._

_Training… I never get tired of it, since my body became more and more used to it. My parents treated me harshly, but also told me to never give up. Seeing how I was the eldest out of the three, I was seen as the exempt model as the family head and a lot was expected from me. I didn't mind though; many things can be achieved from anyone by force, whether pain was brought among them. But who knew that I was the first person to use an Infinite Stratos by my idiot, but genius Tabane-san, or IS for short. Of course those pieces of the news never got to anyone… until the incident she and I led that changed the world. (They did spoil Madoka-nee though, which I was a little envious about, but that's beside the point.)_

_Training… it pays off when you're the strongest woman in the world. The history of the world that the creator, Tabane, needed to be rewritten, as my comrades of war have stated, was ready once the world knew of IS. The revolution that we call the **[**__**Age of Rebirth]**__, where we purged the unjust and the unfit in our new world went underway for roughly six long months. The IS users all around the world, who were female, rejoiced and enjoyed the killings. Many others, mostly our targets- errr, I mean… the males, despised us, but they were new driven under our heels. Since that day, many referred to it as **[**__**The Purge of Society]**__. _

_What does this mean? They think it's just plain destruction, but it's their folly. They think our actions were unjustified and nearly wrought man out of history, but it's their folly. They think the new idea of a new world was unnecessary and that our methods were destructive…_

_But it was their folly. _

_The world revolved around power, and only those with power can rule. That time, it was the society's shift to females being the dominant role…_

…until he, the heretic, came into our level. He was only just a sick and dumb middle brother and, as expected, the family hated him since he never followed the beliefs of staying on the low levels. He wasn't even considered to be human, according to us. But then… he just appeared out of nowhere… and just spawned an IS, right in front of us; even worse, it wasn't even made by the creator… But worst of all, everyone cheered for him and wanted him, as the news said. My parents even tried to reconsider labeling him as a heretic. He stole my parents' attention… just like that… even though I was supposed to be their heir.

Who… or what… is this heretic supposed to be?

_**Present**_**: 10:24AM, April 6****th****, 2032, at the ISA Arena:**

"_**Hey sis! I hope you're watching this!"**_

His cruel, yet mocking voice made me look at the screen. I saw his face, encompassed with such killing and torturous intent, with dervish grinning. But what he held in his hand… was even worse.

"H-HEEEELLLLP MEEEE! ORIMURA-DONOOOO!" Elna, one of the hunters I hired to rid of the heretic, screamed in a pleading tone as she tried to struggle out of Dyne's grasp up in the air. She was being held by the head circlet of the _**[Uchigane]**_, being crushed in-between by Tempo's gauntlet with such ease. Not only that, but her custom IS was bruised to the point of permanent damage. The wing parts were separated and left dangling on, while the legs were completely bruised and pounded, leaving prints. Her right arm was completely frozen over, unable to move from the permafrost, and the carbine was forcefully removed and destroyed, leaving only circuits from the right side of her face open-ended. Only her left arm could move, but it was trying to struggle and hit Dyne's gauntlet in vain. I was only gaping in speechlessness as I watched.

"_**She can't save you now, Scar-face Elna."**_ Dyne gave a sinister chuckle at the nickname. _**"How's it feel to struggle at near-death?"**_ Dyne then lifted Elna and what was left of her IS, dangling.

"S-Shut up… what did I do to deserve this?!" She questioned.

"_**You killed someone all because he talked back to you…"**_ I only watched in horror as the grip tightened on Elna's skull. Blood started to leak a little. Dyne's face changed to an angrier visage. _**"What did he deserve to do to get himself killed by you, huh?! No one would have approved that justification to have the chauffeur killed!"**_

The chauffeur he mentioned… that was the time after when he was being tested and scanned at the National Security. They said that they found out nothing on how he was able to wield and IS though… Those thoughts was encircling me more, and making me want to actually kill someone now. Anger was filling me again, but this time, so was fear.

"B-But… he talked back to me…" was what she muttered in her voice. She definitely became scared, enough to know that Dyne is holding her life at stake. My fists were leaking with blood.

"_**Hmph… Always the same, from then to now…"**_ He replied in a low voice, but then it rose in volume drastically. _**"When will humans ever learn?!"**_ Upon hearing that lane, I immediately opened the intercommunications.

"What makes you think that you're God now, huh?!" I cried over to him on the screen. "What makes you think you're so damn special?!" He then turned to me, acting all cool.

"_**I hold a dear life that is sentenced to a death that you sent her to, my dear Orimura-sensei…"**_ He said in such a soft, yet threatening tone. It made me shiver, back when he first appeared in golden armours of the IS. _**"But now… she's off the hook."**_

"N-NO PLEASE! D-DON'T DO IT!" Elna cried, in tears now and regretting everything she has done in her life. I only had my eyes widen with shock, frightened at what he's going to do to her. "I-I-I DON'T WANT TO-!" Dyne only smiled, as everyone watched in shock.

"_**Goodbye."**_

**FLASH!** With barely any action from him at all, except with a crack of the circlet of the _**[Uchigane]**_, Elna screamed as a deadly dark flash engulfed her with the sound of ice. Suddenly, sheer cold burst from the streams of what remained of the IS and of her. Elna's scream was not heard, but her face realistically showed agony. The aftermath showed Elna, crystallized and killed by being engulfed in cryogenic force, or encased and splintered in ice. I couldn't believe what I saw, nor did the audience. The frozen statue of Elna didn't budge and its face kept the face of agony and sorrow, something that would give a normal child nightmares.

"_**And now she knows judgment…"**_ Dyne casually said, smiling. I pounded my hand on the screen, hard enough to destroy the command board in one slam, and proceeded to go outside to the arena.

**Houki's POV**

I gaped and covered my mouth in fear and shock when I saw what has happened outside. Ichika-san- no… Dyne Tempo killing someone with no regret, and at the most terrifying way imaginable… he was never Ichika-san at all, as he would never do something like this… I nearly fell to my knees and nearly made my tears give way as some were starting to flow. I was starting to think that it wasn't so bad that it was Ichika-san that was in my room and fighting to be stronger, but this… this wasn't how he goes…

Ichika… why… are y-you a monster…?

**Normal POV**

"_**Hehehe…"**_ Dyne gave a little chuckle as he turned the statue towards himself, focusing on the agonized facial feature of what used to be Elna. The scream was gaping and the eyes barely had its pupils anymore. He then did another thing unimaginable.

**CRUSH!**

With just a simple but firm grasp, he crushed the frozen head like it was nothing, leaving only a pile of frozen dust. He then laid out the body and then-

**SHATTER!**

An even louder crush was heard and _Chronos_ kicked the body with such force that it disintegrated into shining dust. It would have been graceful and a fine work of art in one's regard, if they didn't know what the snow was made of.

Dyne then scanned the audiences, looking at the mentally scarred faces of the students. The class grew increasingly frightened at Dyne's gaze, as it was sharper than a hawk and grimmer than the reaper himself, even having one of them faint. The two IS pilots that accompanied Elna in the assault were even more traumatized by the outcome, so overwhelmed that they deactivated their IS and ran away out the open arena doors for their own dear lives. But Dyne Tempo was not done yet. His eyes lay on Cecilia over the corner.

Cecilia, who has been watching at the corner crater all this time, was also traumatized from the killing that Dyne has done. Her eyes were widened with fear, and she was breathing heavy, but not to the point of hyperventilation. It reminded of how her parents have died tragically in a car accident. She put herself to the wall and looked down, being forced to revisit the horrible memories.

_**Past:**_** 10:25AM, August 29****th****, 2021, at Tunnel 3 of the London England Transit:**

**Cecilia's POV**

_The Last Monday of August…_

_It was the best day I would ever have. Thankfully it was an England National Holiday, so it was expected, but I haven't seen them for so long… My mother is finally visiting!_

_After many days of waiting during my studies at summer vacation, my mother, Agatha "Ceruleus" Alcott, will finally come home and spend the day with me; and to where? We were going to see the Spinnaker Tower, just down at Portsmouth (when I was young, I didn't know why it was called that). My mother was gone for IS training and studies, and she handles so many businesses that she's always busy and has no time for me… But today she is finally going with me on a family vacation!_

_Sadly, the bad news is that it IS a family vacation. My slob of a father was accompanying us. My father… was just a spoiled brat! He doesn't do anything, and barely can do anything! He just sits around with wine, looking outside most of the day, thinking. And he has the maids and servants pushed around like he owns the place! I hate him! Mother told me that he's weak and disdainful, which I went into full agreement without hesitation. I would never marry anyone like him, not in the slightest!_

_Ahem… anyway, the Spinnaker Tower was our designation, and we went by limo, then by foot to enjoy the portside. I was amazed by the amount of boats that were there, and the sea was breathtaking. I could only imagine myself riding a motorboat across the sea with the wind passing by. It felt so exhilarating. _

_My mother was smiling at me, pleased by the sights that excited me. "Oh, Alcott. Wouldn't it be great for us to just set sail right now?"_

"_Yeah! It would be awesome!" I cried out with joy. I was smiling the biggest smile and was jumping with joy. If Mother would be with me along with the ride, it would surely be one of the best days of my childhood life._

"_Yawn… That's too much work, Aggie…" A lazy voice yawned behind my back, as if it was trying to mock us. The slob called my father was lazily slouching off a lamppost, acting all lazy and ruining the fun. Wish we could just throw him off the boat instead. "Can't we just go home and relax?" He whined._

"_Dear! I told you to quit that attitude!" Mother scolded him, but he acted like he didn't want to follow. Just like a spoiled child. "We've planned this and you promised that you wouldn't bring that lazy behavior!" But he just yawned and proceeded to sleep on the lamppost. This angered my Mother even more so, but all I saw on her face that was perplexing… was a smile._

"_M-Mother?"_

_**Present:**_** 10:28AM, April 6****th****, 2032, at the corner of the ISA Arena:**

The memory was cut short. A blinding chain of light passed right beside her head and pierced the arena walls, nearly catching her attention shocking and stopping her breath short. It was quite a dead shock, as more chains did the same at different areas. She dodged all six, but now she's pinned down to the wall, trapped at the chains. She then watched in fear, of her opponent, who has just killed another pilot in a gruesome fashion, walk to her to finish her off too.

"M-Mother…" She whimpered, shaking in her voice. "H-Help me..."

Dyne smiled.

* * *

**Did anybody catch that Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories reference? :D**

**No? Awww *cries in the corner* Well, rate and review, like and favourite, comment and criticize, and have a good April! :)**

******Part 3 is coming, don't worry.**


	8. Chapter 7: The Next Experience

**Finally! I wanted to get done with this chapter! And no, this is not called the Clash Part 3. I'm thinking that it includes less of the fighting and more of the plot. I know that I probably should have combined the two chapters, but hell, I'm iffy about such stuff.**

**Anyway, hello guys, Irate here with your latest chapter! This includes plot!**

**EDIT: Before I continue, yes, Dyne is OP atm, but later plot-points will diminish his power. I also want to breakdown his 'Mimic' Abilities on the Clock:**

**1 O'CLOCK MEMORY COMMAND; CHIKARA GAUNTLETS:**** Obtained from Isamu, the Osakan lady/terrorist leader. Her gauntlets are powered by steam and let out excessive force when used, enough to break boulders.**

**2 O'CLOCK MOMORY COMMAND; STAR**** CANNON:**** Obtained from Madoka Orimura, daughter of Reimu Orimura and head of the Orimura house. This powerful laser induced with crimson energy is powerful and can blast other IS in the air in explosions.**

**3 O'CLOCK MEMORY COMMAND; OPTICAL TEARS: Obtained from Cecilia Alcott, the Representative Cadet of the United Kingdom. These four BITS can launch off directly from the wings and fire lasers to distract the enemy. Not much focus is needed to command these BITS.**

* * *

_**Past:**_ **10:26AM, August 29****th****, 2021, at the Oceanside of Portsmouth, England:**

**Cecilia's POV**

"_M-Mother?" I looked at her, confused about that perplexing smile of hers. Whenever she's into these situations, she's usually irritated in this type of situation. But today… something was different._

"_Oh dearie… Why must you always be so irritating to deal with?" She muttered softly following up with a chuckle, enough for the slob of a father to hear, but with a hint of a cold deathly aura around the question. What I was expecting from the outcome made me shiver a little when I looked at my father, lazily leaning and sleeping on a lamppost._

"_Sigh… Why must you always be nagging most of the time?" He asked back. He then turned his head behind him, where our two maids, one with long pink hair tied up and one with short olive hair reaching to the back of the neck, who accompanied us, while holding our suitcases. They looked angry too, considering how they had to stand his attitude. "Ms. Elna, Ms. Aoi, please carry me back to the limo. Walking sure can take a lot out of you." He ordered, as if he was a sleazebag, and stood up straight, ready to be carried._

_But today, Ms. Elna looked even angrier, but with a smile, and she let go of two of our suitcases. Ms. Aoi had the same annoyed face, but was also a little surprised from noticing Ms. Elna's face, all red with anger with her short olive hair. Ms. Elna clenched her teeth and muttered:_

"_No."_

"_Hm?" The slob crossed his arms. Father wasn't one to hear his servants say no to him, but hearing one from Elna was quite shocking to him. "Did you just say… no?" Mother's smile got even bigger._

_Elna's face showed her gritting teeth and yelled at the top of her lungs._

"_I SAID NO!" She was huffing and puffing with anger. It frightened me a little when I saw her eyes widened with a furrowed brow. I was hiding behind Mother, clinging on her leg, frightened on the fight happening between Father and Ms. Elna._

"_Y-You-!" The slob of a father tried to say something back until-._

_**KABOOM**_

_An explosion, right on the portside, appeared, shaking and scaring everyone on the townie side of Portsmouth. A boat, which was peacefully on the port with sailors fixing the sails turned into a mountain of flames and flying pieces of splintered wood. I gasped from the explosion, while being thrown backwards on my backside from the impact by around 2 feet. My father's face became pale from the sight of the explosion, all the colour leaving him to turn it into a bleaching white._

_**KABOOM**_

_Another explosion appeared on another area, this time on a group of motorboats. They broke formation from the impact waves on the sea, and flew about, one even landing on the portline. I turned to Ms. Elna and Ms. Aoi. They turned towards the explosions, but they didn't look fazed. Aoi showed a little distress, but Elna was not._

"_Egh… couldn't they have warned us about this?" Ms. Aoi suddenly said while the waves still rippled in a large fashion. Elna said nothing, but glared back at Father with a smile, who turned back to her, shaking on the spot._

_**KABOOM**_

_A third explosion appeared, this time on the tower. The white tower was bombarded with an explosion, flames spouting from the right of the base where I was. I watched in dread as the tower toppled. I heard people screaming as the tower began to fall. Tears welled up in my eyes._

_I was scared._

_I then heard zooms from the sky as suddenly gray IS machines flew across the sky and went into town. I knew that they were IS, but nothing like our security measure IS we had in England, where they were blue. The gray IS flew into the town, and many more screams were heard. The tower connected with the ground, and a large explosion occurred, releasing even more screams of pain. I turned around, not wanting to watch._

"_N-No please! Spare me!" My father's voice was yelping in horror, as I watched him being picked up by my mother. She was in her IS, gripping my father with her large aquamarine gauntlet. _

"_M-Mother…!" I cried out, but my voice didn't reach her. Her smile got malicious and stretched onto the side of her face. Her eyes sharpened and gazed_

"_Sorry, darling~." She replied to his terror, with a grin. Her grip tightened as he screamed._

"_But you aren't needed in our new world."_

_**Present:**_** 10:29AM, April 6****th****, 2032, at the ISA Academy arena:**

**Normal POV**

"_**U-Urrkk…"**_ Dyne muttered as pain interweaved into his head. _**"That memory…" **_He grimaced and his grip was released off _**[Blue Tears]**_'s frozen arms.

He has previously been launching punch after punch with his _**[Chronos-'Chikara Gauntlets']**_, (from Isamu's personal IS) from his _**[1 O'CLOCK MEMORY COMMAND]**_, to Cecilia and her _**[Blue Tears]**_, now in a critical damage state. Her arms are frozen solid and pinned on the walls of the arena, her wings damaged and unable to move away. The class became more disturbed and wanted to look away. Some of the others became angry on how barbaric the male fighter is on torturing Cecilia and threw insults that couldn't be heard from a long distance away. Cecilia was in tears from the pain and had bruises over her, while her eyes started to daze a little. She yelped for anyone to save her every time she was landed a punch on the gut or the limbs. But Dyne… he loved every second of it.

But suddenly, a painful memory flashed in his head, and shook his mind around, stopping the punching and torture. Cecilia, in major pain, meekly looked at his grimacing face when he suddenly stopped, his eyes closed from the memory that he just experienced.

Once the pain subsided from his head and straightened his posture though, a shadowy figure came from behind Dyne and-.

**CLANG!**

The sound of a katana clashing on metal rang in the air. Cecilia looked up in surprise to see Chifuyu with a katana clashing with Dyne and his shield once again, but this time, she was hell bent on killing him. Was it for beating up a fellow student and torturing her?

"What do you want? Here for Cecilia?" He simply asked. The voice changed to the lighter tone that Chifuyu has heard on the first day of the spring semester. The tone threw her off, but it infuriated her even more.

"W-Why…?!" She muttered, teeth clenched and her eyes brimming with the fiery intent on murder. Readying her katana for a forward slice, she screeched.

"Why are you so damn strong?!"

**CLANG!**

_Chronos_'s shield blocked the katana, just in time. But it seemed as though that Dyne acted a little less experienced when it came to blocking Chifuyu's katana strikes than before, as he was becoming a little imbalanced.

"Why would you say that?" He suddenly replied back with a question. He lowered his shield and turned around to Cecilia, now fainted from the battle from exhaustion and pain. "Don't you care about your dying student?" This made Chifuyu, who was readying another strike, falter a little for a second. It was a line that she wouldn't expect him to say from the two days they have seen each other.

"W-What makes you say that?!" Chifuyu barked in a little disbelief, even shakily lowering her katana to show no harm. "O-Of course I care about my stu-!"

"Tsk tsk. I would have expected better from you, Orimura-sensei, or 'Headmistress'."

She was interrupted a voice that made her stop on her tracks, followed by two gray _**[Uchigane]**_ security IS landed close to Dyne and the walls of the arena. They immediately grabbed Cecilia's limp body and made their way back to the hangar and towards the hospital wing. Cecilia grunted in pain as she was being picked up, signaling that the security isn't handling this very carefully. Chifuyu just stood there staring at the flying IS with a speechless face; while Dyne deactivated his IS and watched Cecilia go, feeling justified but with a shed of guilt.

Chifuyu then turned around and saw a familiar face that made her skin pale. She dropped her katana and shook at the sight of a woman in her mid-40s, in a suit, stockings and tie, much like Chifuyu's attire, holding a clipboard, and wearing a much more serious look. The woman then walked up to Chifuyu, her eyes were almost piercing to the very soul, and shook her head and sighed. But behind Chifuyu was Dyne, who was perfectly fine a minute ago, who was shaking as well, out of fear and realization.

**Ichika's POV**

"I thought I told you about not harming this particular IS! Did you forget?!" She scolded her, as if they were mother and daughter. Chifuyu simply sulked in humiliation and looked down to the ground. I looked at the two in disbelief. That blasted woman… couldn't be…

"_**Heh… you finally see what's going on."**_ Dyne said inside me, acting confident with the 'I told you so' attitude. Though I don't know what is it he tried to tell me.

"See what?" I asked in my thoughts.

"_**That woman is the same woman from the meeting a day ago. AKA she's your mother, Reimu Orimura."**_ Dyne immediately recognized her, which made me grit my teeth. Unsettling anger filled my soul, making me desire harder to cut her up into ribbons. _**"But what is she doing here? She can't be the headmistress of this place…"**_

I was about to answer back with much inquisition, but two sharp glares caught my line of sight. Chifuyu and the Reimu person stared back, both with their sharp glares at me. It made me step back a little and it also made me flinch a little that Reimu was smiling, but I was prepared for anything, as I had the pocket watch out behind my back, ready for activation. Then Reimu walked to me, still with that innocent smile on her face, and came to me face level.

"Fufufu, it's nice to see you again." She said in a polite fashion that even confused me. She put her hand on my shoulder to reassure the politeness, but I felt a ton of pressure on the grip, saying that something is up with her.

"W-What more do you want from me?" I asked, with a hint of desperation. Like I said, I got to be prepared for anything.

"Why don't you come with me? We'll meet in my office and talk peacefully there."

"No way, I'm not going with someone like you!" I backed away, but was shot a glare by Chifuyu.

"Hey! That's Mother you're talking to! Watch how you ta-!" Reimu's smile didn't fade, but she did something mildly...

**SMACK**

…Something mildly dangerous, yet impressive. I stared wide-eyed as she flung her clipboard through unbelievable speed and smacked Chifuyu's face with such strength. The clipboard then fell to the ground as Chifuyu stumbled backwards, hands cupping her forehead to ease the pain. Reimu then turned back to me, still the same smiling face and innocence from before, and gripped my hand.

"Ignore what she has said. My daughter won't bother you anymore." She assured me. I wasn't focused on that when she dragged me out of the arena. I was more focused on the iron grip she had when she grabbed me by my hand. When she grabbed me and forcefully pulled me, it felt like a chain cuffed to my wrist and being dragged around like a pet prisoner. It didn't help that Chifuyu also came along (most of the time, being silent) and student onlookers staring at me like I had organized a crime. But of course, by tomorrow, everyone will know what that crime was.

_**Later: **_**10:52AM, April 6****th****, 2032, just outside of the Headmistress's Office (after a clothing change):**

**Ichika's POV**

It wasn't quiet…

It wasn't welcoming…

But it was very nerve-wracking.

The secretary's office was like any other secretary's office, except without the secretary typing away at her own computer. She left her messy desk unattended as 'she went for a coffee' as I just entered in.

But that wasn't what I was being wracked about. Firstly, there was a commotion in the headmistress's office. The head staff, the headmaster herself and Chifuyu-nee were all in there discussing about… something (probably about me), and somehow it caused a large commotion inside, only having angry muffled voices coming out of the door. If I could have, I would have activated _Chronos_ and would have been able to have the X-ray vision and/or my lucky golden pocket watch ready to know what they are planning. However, that was not the case.

Secondly, there was a commotion going on outside of the secretary's office and out into the hallway. There were whispers and phrases that I couldn't make out, but I knew that it was the voice of teenage girls. It was probably because I made such a commotion from that battle, and now there would be a nasty rumor about what 'happened' at the arena and it would downsize me. Again, if I had _Chronos_ activated, I would have shooed them away. However, that was not the case.

Thirdly… well…

"Hey Utari-san, have you found the last novel of Fairy Tail yet in the manga stores?" The bodyguard, dressed up in a suit and tie on the left asked, tilting her head and leaning her body forward, towards the one on the right.

"No, Momo-san. I couldn't find it. What about you?" The one on the right replied as she turned her head towards the left. She was wearing the same attire as the other bodyguard.

"Aww, Utariiiiiiii~… I would have been excited to know what happened after the fight against the Order of the Hungry Wolf!" Momo (I think that was her name), complained and sulked on the spot in such a girlish way where she stood guard.

"I knooooow, Momo-san~… I'm sorry…!" Utari apologized in the sulkiest way and held Momo's shoulder to get her to feel better.

At that point, I just stayed seated in my chair, made a long depressing sigh and made a double facepalm. It seems that I have bad luck with bodyguards these days.

"_Impressive battle out there, Master Ichika!"_ Chrono congratulated in my thoughts, in a very positive voice. _"Those moves you did were unmatchable!"_

Yeah… "Yeah…" I thought I would assure victory, but… but then Dyne had to just jump in.

"_Oh what's wrong?"_ Chrono asked, changing her shift into a worrywart. _"Were you unhappy that Dyne stepped in?"_

"No, it's not that." Yes it was totally that. "I'm just worried about… why those three people in those _**[Uchiganes]**_ interrupt the fight between me and Cecilia. I was really getting into it…"

"_Well, you were struggling a little out there, so Dyne had to step in for you."_ Chrono reasoned with me in my thoughts. _"Did you really want to become mincemeat out there?"_

"Well, no…" That is not a good enough reason, Chrono…

"_**Oh really now, Ichika? What was not justifiable?"**_

"W-Wha? Were you listening in?"

"_**Yeah. I can hear your every thought."**_ Ugh, now I really have no privacy. I thought I heard Chrono giggle as well as he finished that phrase.

"_**But, now's not the time for lollygagging."**_ He suddenly became serious with his tone. _**"Ichika, can you let me control you for a moment?"**_

"Huh? Why?" What can be so important now?

"_**I'm just curious from what the School Board of Unruliness wants to do with us. And you know that you don't like being the lab rat."**_

"_We already know a plan, so don't worry."_

I felt a little unsettled about this idea, knowing that it was Dyne's fault for actually killing someone and nearly killed another… and I didn't know if I can trust him again to do such things. Then again, he has-

"_**Hey, I just jumped in to save you, and I had no choice but to kill them! That's all, right?"**_

"I was doing just fine, even though it was a 3 vs. 1."

"_**Okay, so you were doing fine. I just… wanted some of the action that's all!"**_

Ugh… "Fine, I'll let you borrow me for just this time. But no killing and no hurting; I don't want to attract any more negative attention. Chrono, keep him at watch."

"_Don't worry. He won't even hurt a fly."_

**TWITCH**

**Dyne's POV**

"_**Alright. Plan A into motion."**_ Dyne said, a smile stretching across his mouth. At the door to the hallways, he heard Momo and Utari still talking about Fairy Tail.

"So where else can we get the next volume of Fairy Tail?" Momo asked her bodyguard friend.

"I dunno now…" Utari sighed. "I tried every store, and they are sold out on the first 30 minutes. I couldn't get my hands on the volume 37… Better luck next time then…" Dyne raised his smirk and stood up.

"_**You mean volume 37 of Fairy Tail that was sold out at the local manga store here?"**_ I asked 'curiously'. _**"I happen to have a copy of that with me right now."**_

They suddenly turned to me and looked at me, wide eyed. "REALLY?!" They both said, with jaws gaping and eyes shocked. I simply nodded, without any reason why they would be so… excited for some book. Humans can be quite scary if you ask me.

"_**I have it right here."**_ I lied as I showed them the 'book' they always wanted. Then they did something that I probably would have feared.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK HE HAS IT!" They screamed with delight as they jumped up and down. I nearly had to close my ears with my hands, but I heard Chrono's voice talking.

"_Quick, Dyne! Throw the book outside!"_ I did what she said and opened the automatic door, where teenage girls were surprised by the screaming from the bodyguards. I threw the book outside and they ran out the room where the book landed. Finally! I took the liberty to lock the door behind them, as they plowed their way through the hordes of students who were the rude onlookers. Outside were screams and then silence, and finally some banging from the door was heard. That was the cue for Plan B.

"_Alright, __**[The Lucky Golden Pocket Watch]**__, ready and active, Master Dyne!" _Chrono reported to me. I nodded and ran to the headmistress's door, still in an arguing mode. I flipped open the watch, reading **11:08AM**. It's good enough on time. I closed my eyes and the black in my eyes became white.

_**Another Present:**_** 11:08AM, April 6****th****, 2032, in the headmistress's office:**

**Chifuyu's POV:**

"So… do we have a deal, my daughter?"

In all of my years of teaching, I felt so… defeated. I couldn't discipline one of my students, let alone a man who used to be my brother, to follow my will as an instructor as school. My mother offered a deal: to get him off my hands and move him to another class, or keep him in my class with the bet still going on for the role of headmistress.

"But it wasn't my fault! He was the one who started up that fights, and he even tortured one of my students and even severely wounded two security IS pilots who tried to save her!" I tried to fight back with as many reasons as possible, but the stern frowning look on Mothe- err, Headmistress Reimu's face kept staring down on her, along with the deadly four other head staff members sitting in the board room meeting.

"Sigh… If I was just your headmistress, I would fire you immediately." Reimu warned her in a stern voice. I stiffened my shoulders as Mother scolded me with her harsh tone. The four members turned to each other and nodded, mocking me with their attitudes on how they can look down on me… "But you still need training, so I'll let you stay as teacher for a while. Yet, you still haven't complied with the deal."

The four members… How they all frightened me at first sight, but I immediately grew accustomed to it. The one on the left beside Mother is Cynthia Alcott, the second mightiest English warrior of the _**[Age of Rebirth]**_, the sister of the fallen Agatha Alcott, and aunt of Cecilia. Right now she's fuming, due to her niece being all battered up and tortured by Dyne. "Ugh…" She pouted on the spot. "Why can't we get rid of him instead? He has ruined my niece, and spoiling our welfare! He's not worth our time!"

The one on Mother's right is Junko Rautaro, the incredibly lewd Brazilian Representative, with a metallic scouter for her left eye and has a knack for dismantling machines. She developed this nasty twitch of pleasure these days, when she heard about Dyne's IS machine and how Shinonono did not make it. "Ohohohoho, now now, Cynthie~!" Junko comforted Cynthia in a very… creepy tone. "I don't wanna kill him, but I want his machine! Those materials composed of his IS would be luscious to my hands~~."

The one on the far left is Benelevé Agnès, a rather shy naive woman, but polite and honest at the same time. She is also the Representative of Belgium, and has family ties to the Dunois Corporation back at France, one of the largest Corporations for IS. She's also a favourite to Reimu, as they look like they have some sort of relationship with each other, but I shuddered at that thought. "I don't really think killing him is the right way though…" Agnès giggled nervously and just smiled like an airhead.

Lastly, on the far right was Clarissa, an ambassador and borne child soldier back from the Germany training camps. Her and I go a long way back as I have instructed her and her military friends, but she had to side with the headmistress today. She somehow rose to the ranks as Mother has taken a liking to her. Her eye patch she keeps on her eye is a secret only the board knows, and she prefers to keep it that way. She does have a knack for Japanese manga though… "I don't really care. He hasn't made much of trouble compared to the camps back at Germany." Clarissa just smiled and shrugged as she kept reading her copy of Fairy Tail volume 37. "I mean, killing is part of turning oneself into a dominating war machine..."

"B-But what if he won't listen to us?" Benelevé asked nervously and shakily.

"He doesn't listen to anyone of us anyway. As chosen as part of this staff to make the decisions, I say disregard of the swapping of classes and just plain expel him!" Cynthia exclaimed, getting up from her seat and slamming her palms on the desk; just like Cecilia, only a little more forceful.

B-But we need his IS machine! I wanna dismantle it and make more weapons! Lots and lots of them!" Junko shouted her complain, following it up with giggling and laughter.

"Who cares about his machine?! Not one of us would want him to be in the new world!"

"But think about it, Cynthia-san. Wouldn't you want someone who has beaten up your weak niece and beaten A-class IS hunters with little to no effort in the later half of the battle to be part of the revolution?" Clarissa interrupted with her idea. Cynthia wasn't too amused about the interjection.

"Excuse me! All warriors that are of English heritage are born to be brave warriors and graceful to their movements!"

"Ehhh… but she was quite the rowdy one…" Benelevé added, much to Cynthia's dismay.

"Hehehe… not to lie, but she is much too arrogant just from IS movement alone…" Junko also added, also much to Cynthia's dismay.

"That explains why your niece lost." Clarissa finished with her argument, leaving Cynthia seething in anger.

I couldn't really care about what they are arguing about. I was deep in thought of what I should choose. I knew my mother and only my mother's decisions were final on her word, so it's either he stays in my class or goes to another. My soul wanted to say, 'Let him go to Class 2; you'll have a fun semester without him bothering you… He won't humiliate you, hurt your students and he won't be your problem…'

But another part of me was saying, 'NO! She bet you for her position for headmistress, and you have dreamt your life on becoming that position! Besides, you can kill him later once he's finished his roles!'

"-ifuyu! Chifuyu?!" My mother's voice rang in the air. I snapped back into reality and looked straight towards her in the eyes, glaring in confusion from the la-la-land that I have been from for the past 2 minutes. "Do we have a deal?"

I tried to open my mouth, but if felt as though it was glue shut. My limbs were trembling on the spot and sweat poured down from my forehead. What did I want: my position as headmistress, or him off my back? I gave it thought, but I then came to a close. I may not get the position, but I can still get revenge on him… from my humiliation… I had no choice and I forced open my mouth…

"Erk…I'm not going to back down on my deal. I'll-" But then suddenly:

**THROB**

Everything came to me, like it's part of a nightmare-ish shock:

"_**Ichika? Who's he?" **_

"_I SAID, DO IT!"_

"_**Hahaha… why bother if you don't care…?"**_

"_WHY?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"_

"_**The ones who retract their IS and moves out of the way for more than 2 seconds… DIES!"**_

"_Ichika! How could you…?!"_

"_C-Chifuyu-nee… why…?"_

"_It's time we labeled him out of the family… for good!"_

"_**Don't spout your lies to me!" **_

"_A humiliation to the house of Orimura. Why can't you be any more beneficial to us? Now fetch me more water!"_

"_**The weak man's no more! My name is Dyne Tempo! And time won't wait for you!"**_

"_Why… Mother… Father… Nee-chan… Onee-san…? __**sniff sniff**__ Why do they reject me…?"_

"_Know your place, heretic."_

I gasped, with my eyes widening and about to pop, and words spouted from my mouth in a half-dead voice.

"T-T-Take him off my hands… he's t-too much trouble." I released all the air out, relieving all of the tension inside, and fell to my knees in defeat, weakness and heavy breathing, but Mother's mouth stretched into a grin.

"Fufufu~ I knew you would say that, darling~." Mother replied to me in a cheery tone.

"?!"

"Okay, then it's official!" Mother announced proudly as she stood up. "He'll be transferred in class 2 then, starting tomorrow! All in favour say 'Aye'!

The room was filled with the word 'Aye!' I sighed of relief but shook my fist. I had new determination now, to rid of the heretic whatever way possible, without losing my job at least… and now I don't have to kill him in front of his old classmates. I got up, turned around and pushed the door open, until-.

**BONK!**

_**Present:**_** 11:13AM, April 6****th****, 2032, just outside the Headmistress's office:**

**Dyne's POV**

Yeow! That really hurts! W-What-?!

"Ahem…!"

"Huh?" When I opened my eyes, I saw myself on the floor of the secretary's room. I frantically looked around, but in front of me was Chifuyu's body and glaring eyes, staring down at me, like I'm some sort of spy. Immediately, I straightened myself upwards and stood up, where I saw Reimu come in from behind Chifuyu. Reimu, unlike Chifuyu, had a concerning smile on her, indicating a motherly worry, but I looked away.

"So… what happened there?" I asked nervously, brushing off the dirt off my uniform pants. "Heard a lot of yelling. You sure it was a peaceful argument?"

"Well, for the most part…" Reimu muttered, enough volume for me to hear. "But we have come to a decision. You'll be brought over into Class 2, starting Thursday tomorrow. Any complaints?"

Class 2? Why? I sort of like my class, seeing Houki and all, and the girls there are rather nice people.

"Who's in that class?" I asked. "And why swap me? I actually like Class 1."

"Really? You've beaten up a fellow classmate and you scare the daylights out of Orimura-sensei and Yamada-sens-."

**CRASH!**

"Y-You!" A female English accented voice was heard from the pitch-black meeting room behind Reimu. Storming in was… Cecilia? No, it was a woman who looked like her. Reimu simply stepped aside like it was nothing, while Chifuyu got shoved to the side. Now she glared down at me with enraged eyes, as she was just a centimetre taller than me with golden locks in her hair, suit and tie attire and aquamarine globes sharpened towards my eyes.

"M-Me?" I simply replied, shaking a little from her 'entrance'.

"You're the simpleton that has beaten my poor niece into pulp!" She exclaimed. "What makes you think you're so special because you're a boy, huh!? Going around and beating a representative cadet from one of the world's biggest and most exquisite countries in the whole world?!"

"Well, I-, wait, you're related to Cecilia?" I could already tell from the _'simpleton'_ and the _'world's biggest superpowers in the whole world' _part.

_**I could already tell from the arrogance.**_

"Sigh…" Reimu sighed as she walked up and put her hand on the English woman's shoulder. "Tempo-kun, this is Miss Cynthia Alcott, one of our head staff and she governs the paperwork, creates the lesson plans for IS, and hosts the exams and tests for most of Japan's schools, including this one." She then turned her attention to Cynthia, now calmed down. "Cynthia, this is Dyne Tempo, the male student that can pilot an IS. I'm sure you have heard about his on the news a week ago."

"Of course I have heard about you, but you are still not welcome here!" Cynthia still pouted and crossed her arms. "I don't care whether or not you can pilot an IS or not. A savage beast like him has no right for the likes of us!"

Some staff member and their accommodation. "Me savage? You don't have a right to call me savage!"

"You were being barbaric in the match today, even killing somebody! Don't tell me that's barbaric!" Oh, she is ASKING for it!

"It's barbaric too when they kill people of their own country and calling it justifiable in the _**[Purge of Society]**_! That's more barbaric!" She looked stunned that I knew, but just like Cecilia, she didn't falter.

"Hmph, a woman of exquisites like me can do anything they like, and exterminating the pests from my country was the only thing to clean it! Plus it's called the _**[Age of Rebirth]**_, not some stupid purge!"

"_**Hmph! Don't get me started!"**_ I hated it that people just did what they liked to do, just because they can. Especially this woman right here! _**"You think you're so damn special, all because you're the identical twin sister of 'The Great Agatha', one of them barbaric inciters of this stupid age!"**_

"How dare you call my sister barbaric! I'll have you know that she housed the great family fortune of the Alcott family and that she depends on her daughter to inherit it! She would never incite a purge!"

"_**Oh yeah, she would incite a purge! What do you think happened to the Spinnaker tower?!"**_

"You're so uninformed, you little brat! The English government took it down, because-!"

"_**Ridiculous! Can't believe you resort to cover-ups and lies for your sister's little incitement! She destroyed the town of Portsmouth with her maids and half of the Japanese squadron, even wanting to killing her own husband!"**_

"H-How did you know?! I-I mean, hmph, ridiculous!" She was starting to sweat a little, meaning she knows so. "Her husband was a sleazebag and slouch, and it would have been a matter of time!"

"_**But it didn't justify murdering almost all of Portsmouth's townspeople and the Spinnaker Tower itself. Are you just saying that people lower than you are garbage and savages?! That's no way of a reason for killing them!"**_

"W-What do you know?! Why am I even talking to you, a savage that knows nothing?!"

"_**Hmph, always the same, from then to now! You really are such a sad person. Why not just kill everybody in the world if that's what you want to do!?" **_ I simply yelled back at her, finally ending the argument. She said nothing and turned her head in such disgust and frustration.

"Ugh, do what you want then, but you better be ready for what's coming for you!" She walked around me to the door, which lead to the hallways of the school. The banging was silent, but once she opened the door-.

**TRAMPLE TRAMPLE**

"Reimu-dono! Chifuyu-sensei!" Utari, looking exhausted from banging the door and pissed beyond belief, burst in with Momo, also looking tired. "Tempo-san loc-!"

"_**You're stepping on someone, you two."**_ I didn't even give them a look. They simply looked down and gasped. These two were unaware that they trampled Cynthia, apparently 'the second strongest warrior next to her twin sister', making me thinks that I should have warned her. But nah… it makes me laugh just thinking about it. I took my steps to walk around the trampled lady knocked out on the floor and continued my way towards the mess hall, as I get ample amount of stares from the students as they saw me coming out of the ruckus. While I walked down towards the mess hall, I reflected on what happened during those dreadful and mournful six months; the times of the _**[Purge of Society]**_.

Those six months where everyone turned against each other, including my friends from back at the slums.

I thought they were people I trusted. We were little kids in the slums, pickpocketing for food and at least making life a little better for ourselves. But when I turned 8, and when those times of the Purge arrived… it became dreadful and mournful. Everyone was getting killed left and right, showing themselves that they think they are righteous with their own mechs they call IS. I even specifically remember the time… the time when _she_ even had me at gunpoint.

_**Distant Past:**_** 5:32AM, June 7****th****, 2021, at the slums of town, during the Purge:**

_The tanned child held up the gun towards me, the barrel smoking after shooting down my two other friends. They had holes in their chest, blood pouring out from behind them. I was cornered in our hideout, along stonewalls illuminated by the fire burning outside. For me, I was scared to the point of hyperventilation. My eyes and limbs shook with fear as I saw the gun being pointed to me, trigger resting on her finger. I was asking myself, 'Why?! Why would she do something like this?! Weren't we friend, having something in common and sticking together?!', but I simply backed up to the corner of our now-wrecked hideout._

_For her, though, she simply stared blankly at me without any emotion, her tanned-skined hands shaking on the gun with her trigger about to pull. "Ichika…" She finally said, as surprisingly, a tear rolled down her cheek from her eye. It made me finally want to reason her._

"_Why, Emilia?! Why are you doing this?!" I exclaimed desperately, trying to get a reason from doing this. "I thought you were our friend! I thought I could trust you! Why?!" I was in tears now, watering and flowing out of my eye sockets. But Emilia… didn't change her demeanor; instead she cried tears while keeping her emotionlessness._

"_I don't… expect you to for-…forgive me… Ichika-san…" She blubbered without emotion, and pulled the trigger. I clenched my eyes shut._

_**BANG!**_

* * *

**So yeah... I know I'm kicking myself in the pants with so many plot points and confusions, but I just feel as though I need to.**

**Also Infinite Stratos doesn't belong to me. *not shot* So read, review, comment, criticize, favourite, follow, pm, like, love, hate, open the door, get on the floor, everybody do the dinosaur.**


	9. Chapter 8: Balance in the Corrupt Soul

**Holy shit. Man, I feel busy. Now I feel the life of an author! Anyway...**

**Hello everyone! Irate here with a brand new chappie, and sadly my longest one up to date. Dunno if that's a yay or nay but oh well. It was a hard working task and I feel... iffy about it.**

**Again, I listened to your reviews (thank you guys for the reviews, especially Meddler and Akimune, since they give me much motivation 3) and I feel as though you're right. It's mostly about Dyne AND Ichika, instead of just Dyne.**

**Now about the iffy part. I'm kicking myself in the pants again to see if I added too much to confuse you. Now Dyne has been implanted reports about Chronos from... somebody. We'll know soon, right? :D**

**Also, I felt iffy about the Emilia Sanchez, another OC, and Houki's discussion with her about why Ichika is here and that jazz. I stink with girl-talk discussion and things that require information and extensive research. It's tough, I know, but hey that's the part of being a writer, touché?**

**Anyway, Infinite Stratos doesn't belong to me, but Dyne, Chrono and the newcomer Emilia has joined the fray!**

* * *

_**Distant Past:**_** 8:29AM, April 7****th****, 2032, early morning at the front desk:**

_The usual routine for the Secretary begins in the early morning for the front desk in the secretary's office, along with a cuppa Joe of course. At least that's how she is handling it each morning. Everyday is the same; sit in the office, check on registrations, and then just laze around for the rest of the day. Quite relaxing in the office, but it's sometimes boring. That's what she's always thinking about when she's on shift in the office._

_**Knock knock **__"Hello? Anybody in there?" A voice was sounded from behind the door. Somehow the Secretary was expecting this, as she didn't jolt from her seat._

"_Come in." She simply called at the knocker at the door. The door slid open to reveal a tanned girl, with messy short green hair and a tall figure to boot. She wore the school's uniform, but was a little uncomfortable in it, as she was squirming around the chest area. "Heh, right on time, I see?"_

"_Y-Yes, it's been a while." She spoke in a broken Japanese language, as she simply smiled at the secretary. "How are things going on in the office, Ms. Akira?"_

"_Now now, don't be so formal. Just call me Nancy. And things have been fine, darling." Nancy, being a victim of how tough and boring her job is, is always a good positive outlook for others. The girl simply smiled back and nodded. The Secretary went back to staring at her computer screen. "So how is Mexico City? Wasn't everyday like a resort vacation?"_

"_Not anymore, it's more bustling, now that this school funds the city." She informed, being a little more cheery, but a little squirmier as se wiggled around in her uniform._

"_You comfortable in that uniform? It looks a little tight on you." The Secretary gave a weird look as the green-haired girl kept squirming in her uniform, which obviously is too tight for her._

"_N-No I'm fine! It's nothing!" She looked away and blushed a little. The shirt and pants looked like it was an S size, but clearly she fits more on the M size scale. Was she trying to show off her curves?_

"_Are you trying to impress someone? Is it…?"_

"_N-N-No! I-It's not h-him! I'm not trying to impress! I swear!" She blushed furiously and waved her arms in front of herself hastily._

"_Oh? You're going to impress a guy? That's new!" The Secretary chuckled. The girl just gave a deep sigh as Nancy stopped chuckling. Apparently she knew the green-haired girl from back then, maybe as friends. But who knows?_

"_Anyway, you must be hungry from the trip. Grab something to eat while you're at it. I'll finish up your registration!" Nancy informed happily. "The mess hall is down the other end of the school. It has a large gate and most of the noise is coming from there. You won't miss it, darling."_

"_Oh, you don't have to call me 'darling', you know." The girl politely remarked as she went towards the door._

"_Just call me Emilia. Emilia Sanchez."_

_**Present:**_** 8:38AM, April 7****th****, 2032, down in the Mess Hall:**

**Dyne's POV**

"Hey, it's Tempo-san… let's eat somewhere else…" That's Whisper Number Fourteen…

**munch**

"Stay away from him. He doesn't look like he's in a good mood today…" That's Number Fifteen…

**munch munch**

"He's evil…" Sixteen…

**gulp**

Ugh… I was sitting alone at the table near the window, with the sunlight shining on the empty seats. Even the awesome breakfast isn't helping out for the new day's problems up at hand…

"_**Hey, you alright? Still being your own 'sulky-angry' mood today?"**_ Dyne asked, as I swallowed the last of my breakfast sandwich. I just sighed and said nothing, while I stared at my tray of empty dishes empty-hearted. I thought I felt myself shrug, as Dyne said, _**"Guess you are…"**_

"Ugh…"

"_**Look, Ichika. I said I was sorry. Just-."**_

"Sorry isn't good enough! Don't talk to me." I snarled.

"_**Sigh… Alright then…"**_

"_M-Master Ichika…?"_

"Nothing from you either."

"_Y-yes, Master Ichika…"_

It wasn't like me, but… I felt more and more negative as the days went on. I couldn't put my finger on it, but… ugghhh… how can I think straight on why I am so…?

_**Past:**_** 7:09AM, April 7****th****, 2032, in the unknown realm:**

"_Hiki-wake!"_ _Chrono declared the 3__rd__ time during the sparring kendo match, which meant 'draw'. We were dead tired as we fell down to our bottoms to the brick floor, exasperated. My palms were sweaty, along with the robe that I was wearing. As I took the robe off, I thought to myself and smiled. I was able to keep up with Dyne, who has beaten me in kendo from when we first met a week ago. _

"_You really are improving, you know?" Chrono flew towards me with a (^_^) face on her, while she held a water bottle wit her pulley. I happily grabbed the water and drank at least half the bottle, and refreshingly gasped for air. I let the water seep into my stomach and savored that moment. Then I watched Dyne over at the over side, chugging down the full bottle, until he exasperated his strength and fell on his back. I gave a small laugh, until Chrono's voice was heard again. "Congrats on your hard work, Master Ichika!" It was nice to feel congratulated_

_I felt a small pat on the back, as I turned around to see Dyne on his feet and beside me with his arm on my shoulder. __**"Hey, you're getting a lot better than I thought."**_

"_Yeah…" I said, feeling the smile lower down to the usual chagrin outside of the dream world._

"_**Hey… what's wrong?"**__ He suddenly puts up a worried face to me, when he looked at me. Dyne looking worried at me wasn't his usual chagrin._

"_It's nothing…" I lied to him and looked away at instinct. Of course, a man with no naivety would fall for that._

"_**Is it about the transfer?"**__ He gave a serious look when he noticed my lie. I only gave a depressing sigh. I knew that being moved away is hard and depressing enough, especially when you were starting to get comfortable in the class._

"_Ugh… shut up." I also knew that it wasn't me that started it at all, so I looked at the culprit in front of me who apparently DID started it all. Dyne softened his look to a more uncaring, but passive expression, as he ruffled his long flowing hair._

"_**Hey, I'm sorry for this, alright?"**__ He apologized, looking away as he scratched his head._

"_It's not good enough, Dyne…" I retorted back. "I wanted it to be a peaceful year, but you had to go and blow it into my face…!"_

"_**Well, what else am I supposed to say?! Even if I didn't, they would push you around like a plush toy anyway!"**__ He shot at me, back into his serious expression. But deep down, he was worried._

"_I wouldn't bring myself low into hurting and killing people with that type of justification!" For the first time, my anger was swelling up. I actually wanted to fight back in an argument. I shot back his serious expression with my own. "Why didn't you just not act up and stay put?!"_

"_**I can't do that! She harmed my pride! OUR pride!"**_

"_Why do you always try to pick a fight?! Are you always this goddamn violent and maniacal?!"_

"_**Then why do you always hide away and never man up?! Are you always this fucking scared and cowardly?!"**__ I twitched a little when he called me 'cowardly'…_

_By that time, both of us were steaming with anger and now overheating. We grabbed each other by the necks and squeezed as hard as we could, choking ourselves._

"_STOP IT YOU TWO!" After about a minute, Chrono, who was between our stomach areas, broke us apart with a forceful push and sending us to our backsides. We both sat upwards and saw Chrono with a [ :( ] face on her. "I can't bear to see you two fight!"_

_**BRIIIIIING BRIIIIIIIING**_

_I knew it was the cue to wake up. The sky went down from the beautiful orange sunsets to the breath-taking view of nightfall. I didn't hesitate to turn my body and fast-walk to the edge and dive into the dark abyss below, ignoring the voices from what I thought were Dyne and Chrono trying to call me from behind and above._

Sorry… but it made me feel so damn angry inside when he called me cowardly…

_**Present:**_** 8:42AM, April 7****th****, 2032, while walking outside the ISA towards to dorms…**

Sometimes I do wonder about that statement… I always wondered what made me so cowardly. Was it because of my own faulty weaknesses from the past, or the frights and tortures I got from them as well? I felt so scared of everything, I lost track on why I became so scared. But from what Dyne said, it rang in my brain, reminding me of one of life's problematic lessons.

"_Don't sulk and degrade yourself from your weaknesses. Learn from your mistakes and push onwards."_ I smiled as I now thank and embrace myself on how I learn to become more courageous, even with all the hindrances going on… It's still stressful though…

I still got an hour and fifteen before the class actually starts, and my books needed to be picked up from my dorm as I walked down stone staircases to reach there. Ever since that fight, Houki became scared of me, even going as far as put her wooden kendo sword beside her bed in case of… defensive measure, I guess. But after walking, I felt as though I was being-.

"Excuse me."

Followed… A female voice from behind me made myself turn around, in order to see a group of 5 girls, the one who was at the center looked like a 3rd year student, and the four around her looked like 1st and 2nd year students. For some strange reason, they wore the same, but different uniforms, having black outlining instead of red and yellow ones. Not only that, but they all have two ponytails hanging on their side. That made me very uneasy for some reason.

"Yes?" I replied back, wanting to know what their concern is. They all had serious glares on me, which made me step back a little. It also made my heart ache a little, from the sight of the ponytails.

"Are you Ichika Orimura?" The 3rd year asked me, with a serious and deadly glare on her face.

"No. Why?" I replied back again, this time trying to hide my frightfulness; and thank God it didn't show so much as it wouldn't make them suspicious. But I was wrong. The 1st and 2nd year girls looked at each other in confusion, but the 3rd year wasn't done yet. I didn't like this one bit, so I turned around, but the girl then grabbed my arm.

"Wait! Please let me ask another question." She requested again.

"Y-Yes…?"

"Are you Dyne Tempo?" She asked again, but with half the seriousness and deadliness in her voice.

"Uhh… no! No, you might have gotten the wrong ma-."

"EYYEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!" A high-pitched scream was heard loud in the air. I looked around, and then up at the staircase, to see-.

**CRASH**

"Huh?" I widened my eyes to the mess in front of me. The five ganged up girls (who were at the base of the stone staircase) were piled below a tanned frilly green haired girl. She also wore… very tight uniform clothes for some reason (don't ask…). She also held a tray of the cafeteria food, still intact with a burrito, a cup of tea and salad, sitting perfectly still, much to my surprise. "What the…" It made me sweatdrop a little…

"Ahhhh~…" The tanned girl groaned as she got up from the pile of now unconscious girl gang, but then slipped and flipped on her back, tossing the tray of food up in the air…

…and landed onto her face.

"A-Are you alright?" I asked, in desperation to see if she needed help.

"Uuuuuu~… Gracias, stranger…" She mumbled in a Mexican accent, through the food, in which she wiped off, and grabbed my hand. But at the instant I pulled her up to her balance, my head started to pulse.

"Ergh…" I grimaced as I placed my palm on my forehead, from the pain that escalated from every heartbeat.

"Eh? Hey… aren't you…?" The green haired female stared at me grimacing, dumbfounded as I started to teeter backwards, then suddenly bursting with happiness all of a sudden. "Oh mi dios… Is that you, Ichika Orimura?!"

"W-Wha…?" My vision started to blur as I unconsciously fell down on my back. The last thing I saw was her coming to my aide as if I needed an ambulance.

The last thing I heard was something that tugged my spine.

"Wake up, Orimura! It's me, Em…ilia…"

Emilia…? It can't be…

_**Distant Past:**_** 5:33AM, June 7th, 2021, at the slums of town, during the Purge:**

"_Why, Emilia?! __Why are you doing this?!" I exclaimed desperately, trying to get a reason from doing this. "I thought you were our friend! I thought I could trust you! Why?!" I was in tears now, watering and flowing out of my eye sockets. But Emilia… didn't change her demeanor; instead she cried tears while keeping her emotionlessness._

"_I don't… expect you to for-…forgive me… Ichika-san…" She blubbered without emotion, and pulled the trigger. I clenched my eyes shut._

_**BANG!**_

…

… …

_Huh? "There… t-that should… s-stop her… __**koff koff**__" And suddenly I knew who that voice was._

_I opened my eyes to see Emilia now lying on the floor, shot from behind and blood flowing from her back. I look beyond her to see one of my only friends of the slums._

"_Yuki!" I cried out as I ran to him with tears in my eyes. Yuki, the 15-year-old boy who has taken care of the slum kids, lay mortally wounded on the wall from the two shots on his stomach and letting go of the gun from his bloodied hand to fall down into the pool of sanguine blood. His face was red from the fires outside, but it was actually pale from the loss of blood._

_He looked at me with sad eyes, but was smiling as well. "Hey… Ichika… 'Squirt'… everyone of us… is dead… 'cept you, of course…"_

"_Y-Yuki…" I just knelt there with pouring tears as I saw life leaving him. "No… Don't leave me, Yuki-dono...!" His blue eyes were starting to close..._

_**KABOOM!**_

"_GYAAAHH!" I screamed as I covered my head with my arms and closed my eyes, as an explosion nearby shook the whole remains of the 'Slumdog's Clubhouse' we were in. But little did I know that I was more helpless than I thought, after everything that has happened._

_**CRUMBLE**_

"_Urrrrrrrgh…!" Wh-Wha…?! "W-What are you doing…!? I can't hold this up any more longer!" I took a quick but shattering look behind the dark to see Yuki, struggling with all his might, to hold up a large crumbling piece of the stone rooftops. It was enough for me to dodge out of the way, enough to painfully watch Yuki drop and let the piece of stone crushing him, ending his life without hesitation._

_And the result was I being even more devastated from the outcome. But before I cried more, I heard voices and more crumbling from up above._

"_Hey, Yuritachi! We just lost signal from one of our agents from one of the room down below! Let's go check it out!"_

"_Sure thing! If there are any male pests that killed her, we'll exterminate them right on the spot!"_

_The roof started to crumble more as I looked to see legs of mechanized machines come popping from the holes. If I was some ordinary kid on the happy time, I would be ecstatic to see Gundam come to life. However, that was not the case._

_Sure enough, I got up and ran. I went towards the 'Super Secret Getaway Hole' (AKA the sewer manhole), and with all my strength, lifted the lid, and climbed down. By now the destructive Gundam machines finally made their way down to the clubhouse's floor, but I closed the lid before they got a chance to spot me; and at that point, I simply was scared to the point of absolute terror._

_Nearly slipping on the ladder, I safety made my way down to the dark waterway caverns and kept running, but at around the second turning corner, my feet would carry me anymore and fell down on the floor. At that point, I didn't care anymore._

_Everyone was gone. The friends I once knew, loved and laughed with, either becoming betrayers or dead. I simply knelt down along the murky walls and cried my hardest. The tears were rushing down my face and I can barely breathe from them, as I hugged my own knees to keep me secure from the living nightmare that was happening outside. It didn't secure me though, as I just cried for what felt like hours before I fell asleep… along with the tears from the 'Slumdogs Club'._

"_Carry the 'Slumdog's Honor' for us, Ichika… You may be a squirt on the outside, but inside, you're the bravest of us all…" was the last phrase that left my ears before I fell into a dreamless slumber._

The day everything changed. The day I wished my life would return to the way it was. The day where I could continue being happy and with my friends... no, my family!

All ruined… everything… by her… _**by them.**_

_**Present:**_** 9:14AM, April 7****th****, 2032, in the dormitory halls…**

**Houki's POV**

Ugh… can't believe this…

Walking back to the dorms because I forgot the new booklet that Yamada-sensei gave us to read and review for today's class was a complete bummer for me. I didn't get enough sleep from last night due to what happened yesterday, and maybe I would prefer not to think about it…

"Ehh… His key isn't working… Am I sure it's this room?"

I looked up from my cold depression state to see a green-haired tanned girl, who obviously has dressing issues, because her clothes were tight and stretching. But the more important factor is…

"W-What are you doing in front of my room?! And where did you get that key?!" I immediately shot at her, as I have noticed that she's in front of my dorm room with Ichika. What was a slut like her doing, trying to invade it in the first place?!

"Ehh?! W-Wha?!" She turned around and gasped in surprise at the same time as she jumped out of her standing spot and landed on-.

"Ouchies… mi culata…" She whimpered, but what she landed on was…

"Eh… Eh… EEEHHHHHHHH?!" I simply screeched because of where she landed. Behind her was Dyne; sounding asleep, and sitting on his arm was that slutty tanned girl. "W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET OFF OF HIM!" I screamed at her.

"Huh…?" She replied dumbfounded, but when she turned around, she jumped from her lovely little seat. "AAAIIIIEEEEEE!" Angered enough, my fists that were clenching tightly, enough to reveal a blood vessel, landed on her head, sending her reeling to the door. She shook it off and immediately looked at me with the 'Don't hurt me, it was all an accident' look, whimpering with green puppy-dog eyes. I hesitated, knowing that wasn't the right thing to do, and lowered my fists. Honest to God though, I would have pummeled her, if I hadn't noticed that Ichika was just… lying there.

"What are you doing here?" I strictly questioned her, as she got up from her seat.

"This is where mi senor Ichika lives, correct?" She said, in half Japanese, half of another foreign language, along with an accent. It didn't matter though; I could make out the words just fine.

"Y-Yes… I'm his roommate. Why?"

"My childhood friend, Ichika Orimura… he…" She turned around to see him sleeping and slouched on the wall. His eyes are barely open and looked limp. My mouth would have been gaping if I didn't see him like this; and the green haired person would have turned into dust by the time I was done with her.

"W-Why is he like this?!" I snapped at her, closing in on her. She jumped backwards in surprise and held her hands up in front of herself.

"No no no! I didn't do this! Ichika helped me up after I fell, but then the senor fell too…" She gave a worried and innocent look that told me that it wasn't her fault

"O-Oh…" I also realized how harsh I was to her, and it wasn't my right to harm her. "S-Sorry about that then…" I apologized and made a short bow to cheer her up…

Wait… did she just say 'childhood friend'?

**Twitch twitch**

"Well, I have to bring him inside, before it is la tiempo de clase." She knelt down and grabbed him by the chest area and dragged him in, but stopped cold when she looked at me. "Are you alright, mi amiga? It looks like you have seen a ghost…"

"W-W-W-WHAAAT?!" I screeched out of the top of my lungs. "SINCE WHEN WERE YOU HIS CHILDHOOD FRIEND?!" Obviously this bitch has something to say!

"Ehh?! S-Senorita, w-why are you so angry all of a sudden?" She cowered to the door, with a terrified face. "I knew Ichika as mi amigo since long ago! Don't hurt mee!"

Rrgghhh…

…Calm down…

…Compose yourself…

"Really…?" I asked calmly, but still trying to force out the information. "… and how would you have known Ichika-san as a childhood friend? I've known him since kindergarten." She may be one of his childhood friends, but I'm still the first childhood friend of Ichika… even if he still is a monster.

"Ehhh?" She reacted to my statements like that. "Then you… aren't you that senorita Shinononono?"

Huh? "Err… it's Shinonono. Just three, not four times. But how do you know me?"

"Ah yes! I remember Ichika telling me about you since I've known him!" She smiled bubbly as the innocent and terrified demeanor disappeared like that. She then bowed her head and said, "It's an honor to meet another friend of Ichika. I am Emilia Sanchez, from Mexico. It's nice to meet you, Shinonono."

"Right… but…" I then switch my glances to Ichika… I should really be calling him that at this point… "How do you know it's him?"

"Hm?" She then turned Ichi- err… Dyne and took a long look at him. Then suddenly-.

"Eh? Since when was senor Ichika blonde?"

"You didn't notice that all this time?" I sweatdropped a little when I heard that statement. It's obvious that she is very spacey and absent-minded.

"Oh, mi tan estúpido… but that is still Ichika there. I know it." She was glancing at Ichika, but mainly the head. Why?

"Eh? How?" She then knelt down and tilted his head to his right and unbuttoned the first button off of his uniform, revealing his shoulder and a portion of his upper back. Upon analyzing the area though, I've noticed that the upper back portion was covered in scars and wrecked skin. I gasped a little as it was revealed. "Sigh…Yes. It is he." Wait… Ichika got those? When?

"What is it with those scars and burns on his back?" I asked, curious and worried about what happened when I didn't see him. If this were what triggered Ichika to become… what he has become now… then that would explain yesterday (I think…).

The girl said nothing and showed no emotion, until she stood up straight and back on her feet. "Those are his scars…"

"Scars from…?"

"Scars from his past…"

"Mind elaborating then?"

"You might not like to hear it…"

"Tell me! I have to know!"

"It's…" She hesitated a little. "… It's his scars from his family… he said they labeled him a heretic…"

"His family? Heretic?" T-That's… so grim… Ichika…? What happened during those 10 years while I was gone? What changed with you and your family? I always had an idea that they didn't like you… but would they actually go this far…?

_**Past: **_**10:03AM, December 27****th****, 2022, at the Orimura household…**

"_So this is your little sister, Tabane?" Ms. Orimura looked at the doof of my sister, who was still wearing the stupid bunny hood she got when she was a baby._

"_Yep yep, Rei-sama!" She cheered like how she always cheered; like a bunny… "Heehee, isn't she just adorable~~?" Stop embarrassing me, sis…_

"_Oh hello there~." The older woman greeted in a cute (but more mature) way as she bent down and pinched my cheeks, as if I was her niece or something. "You must be Houki-san~. I hope you have a wonderful time at our home~."_

"_H-Hai…" I replied, though I was still having my cheeks pulled. She then let go and stood up to turn back her attention to Tabane._

"_Now then, you're just in time for the dinner party, so come along…"_

_I couldn't care less on what they were talking about. None of the stuff they called about could I understand… well, except for the 'What did you do at Christmas?' questions and answers. I took a look around their home and it looked like a very standard, but large Japanese traditional mansion. They had tatami mats, robes, slippers, an outdoor garden (though it was snowing outside), everything a mansion is needed for. I let my own curiosity guide me as I left my sister to wander the halls as she went with Mrs. Orimura._

_During my wander I saw what looked like a busy preparation for… something. Maids in robes were readying dishes and bringing utensils for what looks like a dinner party. Again, I was young, so I didn't know what was going on at that time. I kept stumbling around, seeing rooms that all look the same, and hallways that all look the same… _

"_Sniff sniff…"_

_A timid boy's sniffling called to me. Knowing now that I was looking down since I was being bored from the same rooms over and over again, I looked up to see myself on the edge of the patio, where the outdoor garden was residing, except it was covered in a white blanket of snow. The one who was sitting on the edge was none other than Ichika himself, with what looked like a tear streaming down his eye._

"_Ichika-san?" I said in surprise as I walked towards him. I didn't expect him to be so far from helping out with his family dinner. When I saw him, I initially wanted to ignore him, but seeing tears on his face changed that. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Oh uhh…" He turned his head away nervously and covered his face, something that he does every time he gets nervous. I knelt down to see his face close up and it turned out to change into a beet-red. "Nothing…"_

"_You sure?" Obviously something is up. I grabbed his cheeks and forcefully turned his face around. Sure enough, his eyes, along with the skin on his face, were red and puffy._

"_Nehhh~…!" He whined as he struggled to turn his head away from me. "Why did you do that…?" He asked innocently._

"_Why can't I? I'm worried!" I told him bluntly as I lashed and grabbed his shoulder. But after saying the last word of those phrases, I immediately blushed too and let go._

"_You… you're worried about me…?" Ichika said, slightly turning his head back towards me, with an innocent and tearful look. Seeing that look made me sigh a little, but also made me give in to my feelings._

"_Yes… I was. Now tell me what's wrong…" I requested, as I sat down along the patio side with him. As soon as I started to stare at him, he turned his head._

"_I'm serious, nothing is wrong…"_

"_Ichika, stop lying…"_

"_Fine…" From before, I knew that he was good at hiding his own problems through his silence and perseverance to not talk, which made him unsociable. When he's with me however, he opens up and talks (he still can hide from me, but he opens up more frequently only towards me). Most of the time though, they were just tragic beat-em-ups though, but his face showed more mental hurt than physical hurt today._

"_My family…" He blubberingly said, as tears started to well up again. "My family… kicked me out of their dinner party…"_

"_Eh?! But why?!" Sure, I was stunned, because of how nice his mother was to my sis and me. Who would disregard their own son out of a measly dinner?_

"'_No one wants an unwanted child to join another's dinner party', Mom said…. 'Who cares about this waste of space anyway?' Nee-san said… 'You're getting in my way. Now move and get out of here!' Onee-san said… They're all so mean and hurtful…" He was shaking and I knew he couldn't bear it any longer, as his tears started to leak and using all his facial muscles to hold it in wasn't enough. And it wasn't just his mother, it was also his two sisters (I never knew he had sisters) who they disregard and think they have a right to kick around their little brother… That's rotten…_

_Feeling sorry for him, I wrapped my arms around Ichika as he continued to let his feelings go. He cried on my shoulder, staining my shoulder with tears. But it didn't matter, as I kept rubbing his back and saying 'It's okay…' and 'There there…' over and over to sooth him. I knew we were missing the dinner party we were supposedly invited to, as I turned my head and heard the voices coming from the rooms beyond the seemingly endless corridors._

"_Sniff sniff… Shi-Shinonono-san…" _

"_Hm?"_

"_Please… stay…"_

"_I will, Ichika-san. Don't worry…"_

From then on, when he started to regain courage outside of his home. He started to become a little more friendly and outgoing (a little, I said) and became more attached to me. Of course, I didn't let go of him no matter what, which is why my feelings are already so strong towards him; but now…

…he shuts out everyone, including me. He became so aggressive, merciless and sinister, especially from yesterday… What made you into this, Ichika…? How did he get those burns and scars…? Was it really… your family? I should have looked after you better…

_**Present:**_** 9:21AM, April 7****th****, 2032, back in the halls of the dormitories… **

"Hey, you!"

Huh? I turned at the hall to see an unlikely sight. It was a pack of five girls, oddly enough having each with two pigtails. They also had uniforms that had black outlining, which made them a little threatening, especially the tallest brunette in the middle. What did they want?

"W-Who are you?" I asked.

"Us? What's it to ya?!" The middle girl shot back in a threatening tone. I stepped back a little. She looked like the leader of the pack, since she was the tallest of the group, but they all looked just as fierce. "We're here for that man there," she pointed to Ichika, "and it's none of your business about what we do."

"Ehh…" I thought to myself quick for a delusion. Do those girls have some kind of vendetta against him? "He's not Ichi-."

"Why do you want him?" Huh? The green haired girl, I think her name is Sanchez-san, stepped forward with a serious face, defiantly in between Ichika and those pack of girls. "If you're here to hurt him-."

"Hmph, so what if we were to hurt him?" The middle girl shot back, aggressively. "What can you do, except trip and fall down?"

"Yeah!" The other four girls agreed in unison. It was a little creepy to hear them like that, but Sanchez was unfazed. Don't tell me…

"Oh yeh? I can do much more than that, amigas!"

"Hmph, so the klutz thinks she can take on the _**[Doragon]**_?" Doragon? What…?

"K-K-Klutz…? W-What's that?" Sanchez dumbfounded asked.

Silence engulfed the hallways. Is she… for real?

"Err… uhh… never mind. Shows how much of a doofus she is…" She mumbled, before she got herself back on track.

"Ehh… I don't know what you're calling me…" She shook herself out of her loss of words. "But you won't get to Ichika!"

"Oh really?"

The air suddenly got tense and the aura on those girls sinister. I stepped back, knowing that it'll be a rough fight. Then suddenly the middle girl of the group materialized herself a katana from an _**[Uchigane]**_, and rushed towards Sanchez, enough to feel the wind rushing towards me. She raised her arms and-.

**CLANG**

"Eh?"

_**Meanwhile, in the unknown realm…**_

**Normal POV**

"AAAUUUGGGHHHH!" Ichika kept screaming at the edge of the rooftop, with his eyes bulging with red cracks and his hands gripping his head, from the agony he felt when he remembered. That one little scene from his heart that included Emilia made him cringe and agonize as the pain, whether it was mental or physical, came back with twice as much force than before. Around him, the (what used to be) beautiful scenery of the clock tower roof and the clear sky suddenly turned into a ferocious stormy weather, with black clouds, windstorms and thunderclaps that were louder than explosions. At the other side of the roof stood Dyne and Chrono.

"…" Dyne was silent as he watched Ichika howling with pain. What made him go silent and just plain watch Ichika?

"Wow…" Chrono watched the thundering storm on her 360-degree neck, as she struggled to fly due to the stormy weather. She then rushed to Dyne, using his back as a shelter. "Was the memory of Ichika… that painful?"

"_**Memories can be much more painful than this."**_ Dyne calmly replied as he just stood there with his arms crossed. _**"But you know that this is all part of the process. He'll need to reach down and release the rage being held within him if we are to reach THAT level of negativity."**_

"Err… right…" Chrono unsurely understood.

"_**You don't remember… do you…?"**_

"No…"

"_**I thought so…"**_ He then turned around, facing Chrono at eye level. He then got out his hand from his crossed position, now covered in black pulsing energy. _**"Alright let me refresh you memory."**_

"Ehh…?" Before Chrono had any idea on what Dyne was about to do, he grabbed her by the head with his pulsing energized hand and-.

**BZZZZZZZZZZZZZAP!**

"AAAAAAAA…AUUUUUUUUUUGGG…GGGG…GGGHHHH!" Chrono screamed, her voice chopped and buzzed, as the energy flowed from Dyne's hand to Chrono's mechanical head violently flowed into her. Suddenly, she knew what Dyne's knowledge was.

_**[Ancient Will of the Gods], The Chronos Prophecy Decipher and Study; Spectra of Time:**_

_**Report #1:**_

_**The beginning… where all life was void… and where nothingness was the only colorful splatter in the void… where everything began down to zero… **__**and where that zero became One… and that One was time.**_

_**To anything and everything was created with time, and along by the Gods and Goddesses. Time flowed as the natural laws were born from the void, to salvage what was there to create **__**Yin and Yang**__**, then matter, then universes, then galaxies and stars, then planets, and then finally came life.**_

_**Chronos, a God with many complexities when it came to personality: he can be filled with anger and rage, and then a second later smile and spread his joy around. He can be crying tears from lamentation, or be deceitful, yet guilty and regretful for what he has done. If you can compare him to something… or someone we know… let's try a human. Humans over the long millennia have evolved to what we have become now: curious, naïve, dutiful, prideful, malicious, and even anger, joyful, guilty or grief. **__**Noting these human subjects that I have been watching over for the last 50 years gave me the answer that everything came from Chronos, and that he was here before the zero.**_

_**Report #2:**_

_**What we see in nature… in our six senses is what we determine as an answer. **__**What answer is the answer answering? Only the question can explain, and yet, where does the questions come from?**_

_**Questions come from all around us come in many different parts of the world…no, of the galaxy. It has come from the simple ones of 'Where have you put my reading glasses?' to the very complex and unknown ones like 'What is the meaning of life?' **__**The meaning of life**__**… That is a very complex question indeed, as many of these questions produce many different answers, according to our beliefs and evidence. Thankfully, I got my own belief right here.**_

_**When I first encountered and came into contact with the Ancient Readings, I felt as though knowledge has come to me and gave me a motivation. **__**Wandering for 50 years in my life, as coming into contact with humans made me always wonder about what life was about.**__** Chosen to aid the two New Chosens also made me think if my life was meaningless, only filling with one destiny before life ends. But knowing that I have been building for the greater good, it eased me a little.**_

_**But enough about that, what the Readings have said to me was that everything and all things (including our most precious lives) were a part of Chronos and indirectly tasked to balance, but not directly linked to him, so he can't just strike us down and destroy the Earth like that. Now the question on this… balance… is: what is it and what can we do to it (if you are somebody like me)? It is simple as to become one with everybody and balancing the Yin from the Yang. That is Chronos's ultimate goal, and vessels and disciples of him yearn to fulfill harmony. **__**If one wishes to fulfill complete harmony, he must know [Complete Karmic Equilibrium] with his negative/positive half of his soul.**_

_**But the sad news is… we're a long ways off from it. From my own account of 50 years of travel, people have been submerged into their own greed and wealth. Hurt and destruction was imminent as people screamed for their lives. Everywhere was negative energy flowing out of the souls of many, and it breaks my heart just to see the unjust dead. **__**If only the New Chosens can lead this world out of its spiraling doom…**_

"Huff… huff… huff…" Chrono breathed heavily as she nearly stumbled to the ground from the mindful of words she has learned and listened into. What… or who… were those words coming from? "_**[Complete Karmic Equilibrium]**_…?"

"_**It's what Ichika is going through now."**_ Dyne replied coolly as he turned back to Ichika, who has stopped howling with despair and just knelt down in loss of his strength and stamina. His heaving was definitely heavy, and what spelt on his face was enough to scare a zombie.

"Wait…" Chrono looked up and back to Dyne with a question, still looking at Ichika's shaking body on its knees. "Did you do the same thing to Ichika? And what about you? Did you do your equilibrium?"

"_**Not exactly, and… y-yes."**_ Dyne replied, but with hesitation in his voice._** "Ichika instead got part of my negativity. I house all his troubles, and the most of his agony and pain…"**_ Dyne's eyes darkened in his long waving gold hair flying towards the winds, now slowly dying down. The clapping thunder ceased and the stormy flood now just became a drizzle. Many of the dark clouds disappeared and the wind seemed to lessen a lot. _**"Sigh… but his positivity in his soul is another thing. It's very… VERY painful to let it invade in my heart, especially when there is nothing but the Yang."**_

"Ohh…" Chrono didn't have any words to help with Dyne, as he wasn't in the brightest of moods today. As she looked at him, she now noticed that the drizzle stopped and the wind changed into a light breeze. Sadly, the clouds didn't move out of the way to reveal the moon (it's morning in reality and night in here).

"_**Looks like he's done, but…"**_

"But what?" Chrono asked. Dyne didn't answer as he continued walking towards Ichika's kneeling body. His arms lay widespread on his side. Dyne then knelt down to grip on Ichika's shoulder to comfort him, but-.

**BZAP!**

"_**Argh!"**_ Dyne, becoming suddenly startled, lashed away his hand and stepped back as soon as black sparks started to emerge from Ichika's body. Seeing him startled meant something was really something to get startled about. _**"N-No way…!"**_

"W-What is it?!" Chrono desperately asked Dyne as she flew over to him. He didn't have time to answer as a menacing voice came out of nowhere and more sparks engulfed Ichika.

"I MUST DESTROY THE OPPRESSORS!"

With that line said, the air cackled with loud lightning, and a violent tremor shook the clock tower. Dyne barely kept his balance as he saw Ichika float up in the air, with his arms outstretched and pulsing with black energy. Then he made half of a back flip and dove down into the abyss, where reality was waiting.

"_**No! Ichika!"**_ Dyne called, but it was no use. He then went to the edge to dive down as well, but a black barrier pulsed, preventing any exit.

"I WILL DESTROY THE OPPRESSORS! I MUST!" The sky chanted out over and over in a distorted booming voice. Thunder cracked alongside, accompanying the chant. It was getting nowhere for Dyne and Chrono.

"Master Dyne!" Chrono called out, over the chant and thunder, as she flew over to him, trying to break the barrier with his fists. "What has happened to Master Ichika?!"

"_**His negativity…!"**_ He can only muster up to say. _**"I-It rose to drastic levels! He has failed equilibrium… because of that memory of her…"**_

_**Present:**_** 9:25AM, April 7****th****, 2032, back in the halls of the dormitories… **

**CLANG!**

"Eh?"

When I moved my hands out of the way, I didn't see Sanchez guarding with her… whatever she had. Instead, I saw a different sight.

"I must… destroy…" Ichika?

"Oh, so the man finally awakes, eh?" The tall girl cockily noticed as she was still locking her katana with Ichika's sudden one-handed Blade Grasp. But something was different about Ichika… WAY different than last time…

"Ah! Ichika, you're awake!" Sanchez suddenly noticed as she looked at him, defending the girl from the katana.

"Oppressors…"

"Hm? You said something, you son of a bit-?"

That was what I heard from the tall girl of the pack, then suddenly…

**KABOOM!**

"Weak…"

I covered my eyes from the explosion that occurred, and what I saw in the clearing of the smoke was Ichika raising his hand and showing his palm to the direction of the pack. I don't know what happened, but a tunnel of the wrecked hallway was left, only with a hole in the wall at the end of the hallway to accompany it. I stood there petrified. Has he gone back to the deep end again, like yesterday?

"U-Umm… Senor Ichika…?" Sanchez muttered in her breath.

**Swerve**

In just a mere second, he swerved around to his right hand. His eyes were a deep purple, but the menacing part was that it had no pupils or white in his eyes. It was if he was possessed. But that wasn't menacing enough with what he was holding on his hand, aimed directly towards Sanchez… and me.

"Die."

* * *

**Close to 7500 words. Holy crap XD**

**Don't expect another chapter so soon. I got exams and I'm still in high school ya know .**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy and remember the 3 R's! Read, rate and review! oh and also favourite and like and follow and criticize and stuff.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Chosen Doom

**Oh man oh man oh man... how long has it been? Don't you just hate the Late Spring Exams and Culminatings?**

**Anyway, hello guys, it's Irate and I feel guilty about this entry. Yes it's absolutely short, but it was all the time I had before people up and forego this story so why the hell not?**

**I'm pretty envious to those people who actually have time doing this. Not really saying that they don't have time for other stuff, but they know how to prioritize. It makes me sad inside...**

**Anyway I shouldn't keep you any longer. Enjoy the short part!**

* * *

_**Another Past:**_** 9:23AM, Thursday April 7****th****, 2032, down by the staff room:**

_**Sip…**_

"_Ahhhhh…"_

_The room filled itself with the empty scent of black coffee as a lone woman, in a red dress, heels and long blonde hair, enjoys the leisure for a few extra minutes before heading to class. It certainly felt noisy in the past time during class time, but only for this time where she could truly know silence._

_She then turned her body to the two sheets of paper on the desk, each side to side of each other. The two sheets, each with a stamp saying 'CLASSIFIED', showed a picture of a man and a girl each facing forward. Below and beside the pictures were information on them, which included their intelligence scores, IS Statistics, information on their personal IS (optional), and personal information. The one with the picture of the girl, shown with short green hair and tanned skin showed the usual swig, but the one with the picture of the boy, shown with short blond hair and yellow eyes, barely had any deep information at all. He had the usual listings about the behavior in school, like 'sleeping in class' and his intelligence scores, but nothing else on personal life._

"_Odd… isn't there anything else?" The blond woman muttered as she went through the information. Everywhere she went skimming on the sheet though was either blank, or provided very little information (probably up to 2 sentences). She raised an eyebrow and was silent for around a minute as she looked at the profile picture of the boy, staring with his own golden eyes. "Fascinating… what can this boy be…?" The woman thought._

_The thought then broke out of the silence when a knock… or should we say a banging… on the door interrupted the silence._

"_Seeeenseeeeeiiiiiii!" The voice came crashing down through the door, with a woman coming along with it. The woman, adorned with the usual suit and tie and stockings, but with long red flowing hair, bursts in and crashes into the blonde woman's arms and chest. "Did you expect me to come, Sensei?" She asked cutely as she vulgarly rubbed her face on the woman's breasts, not fazing from embarrassment one bit._

"_Sigh… must you always be like this?" The sensei told her as she pushed the vulgar actress away from her. The redhead then stood straight back up and smiled big._

"_I can smell your favorite morning-time wake-up anywhere!" The redhead blushed and giggled like mad, as the sensei didn't show her shuddering. But then something piqued her interest as she spotted a couple of certain pieces of paper within her blonde victim's pile of work papers._

"_So whatcha got there?" In a blink of an eye, the redhead immediately swiped the papers on the desk and quickly began eyeing the inked words written. The blond woman didn't bet to have her read the classified papers so immediately they were swiped back._

"_Idiot! Stop staring!" The blond woman snapped._

"_Fufufu… O where else do you mean, my lovely-!"_

_**smack**_

"_Ugh… anyway…" The redhead had an exposing bump on her head as she was having her head down from the pain. The blond one then got her papers ready and started to leave out the door._

"_Sooo… Sensei! Wait up~!" The redhead cheerfully, noticing the blond one left already, dashed right behind her and suddenly started to walk casually beside her. This would have surprised other people, but for her sensei was not a big surprise. As they walked the halls with students "How was your morning, eh?"_

"_It's fine." The blond monotonously answered._

"_Who were those two on those sheets? WAIT, don't tell me…" The redhead inquired then went into a thinking pose while walking._

"_A transfer."_

"_Ehhhhhh?! A transfer?! Oh poo, and I was just starting to get comfortable with our students… wait…"_

"_Actually, it's two transfers…"_

"_Gimme that!" The papers from the blond's hands were immediately taken away from her pile and into the redhead's hands. _

"_H-Hey!" The blond was taken into surprise as she saw and felt the papers swiped. The redhead then proceeded to stare at the papers until-._

"_NO WAY! THE BOY IS TRANSFERRING TO OUR CLASS?!" She screamed in surprise._

_The blond shot a look at the redhead as she was able to get a good look at the two transferred students for a good 3 seconds before it was swiped back. "Didn't I tell you they was classified?!" She then proceeded to give her a brutal whack on the head, but not before hearing the ongoing whispers arising to cries, squeals and outbursts._

"_No way! Tempo-san got transferred!"_

"_Not only that, but he got transferred into the 'Dragon's Domain…' "_

"_Heard the __**[Doragon]**__ members meet there. It won't be long until their leader comes…_

"_Eeek I'm scared now!"_

"_I wonder if he'll survive in there… Nah!"_

_The sensei clenched her free fist in fury and emanated her deadly aura, then silently turning her whole body to the redhead, now smiling out of guilt and fear and slowly backing away._

"_Ehehehe… whoops…"_

"_You idiot…! AUTUMN!" The sensei then readied her own dual-wield clipboards and was about to start slapping Autumn to no end._

"_Nooooooooo! Meusel-senseeeeiiiii!" Autumn screamed in great fear (with a hint of pleasure) just before Meusel began to wail on her, until-._

_**KABOOM!**_

_An explosion then suddenly appeared (in the nick of time) outside the hallways where the fields were open. The smoke from the blast lifted to uncover two IS, one golden-plated and one green, and their pilots fighting. Everyone screamed and feared for their lives. But what truly shocked the two teachers were the pilots themselves._

"_RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The golden one roared, as black lightning sparked around his armor._

"_Ichika! Can't you hear me?!" The green one barely struggled to defend herself, even with claymore at hand. She then reared her feet and quickly kicked him away, while struggling to get up._

"_Tsk this is bad…" Squall Meusel muttered while narrowing her eyes towards the golden IS sparking with black lightning. "Autumn!"_

"_Yes ma'am!" The redhead then ran towards the fight, with her standby IS in tow. Meusel couldn't help but snicker a little when she saw the golden IS pilot, now looking demonically possessed._

"_Dyne Tempo, huh?" She smiled to herself. "You behave just like her… So who exactly are you?"_

* * *

**Yeah I was like "Why the hell not? I'll do this instead!" to the character selection. Yep, Autumn and Squall will be joining the fray in class 1-2 and you better be excited for them!**

**Anyway, Infinite Stratos doesn't belong to me. Wish I remembered to put that up to the beginning, but it's here at least. Read, rate and review please! They taught you those 3 R's in Elementary School! (Oh wait wrong R's XD)**


	11. Chapter 10: Doom Has Its Choice

**Man this took a lot of time. At least it's out. Oh well, might as well get it on~~ :D**

**Hey guys Irate here with another chapter! Srry it took sooooooo long! Again, I just finished exams and preparing for university! Now I have a summer job in the way DX... Nooooooo! *dies and gets buried***

**Gravestone: _Infinite Stratos doesn't belong to me. Only Dyne, Chrono and Sanchez belong to me. 3 Rest In Pieces_**

* * *

_**Past:**_** 9:28AM, April 7****th****, 2032, in the unknown realm…**

**Dyne's POV**

_This doesn't look good at all. I looked around the dark looming sky and the black barriers in desperation. "__**Goddamnit, what do I do…!**__" I cursed myself as no solution came into light. _

"_M-Master Dyne…! The barrier is closing in on us!" Chrono called desperately, as one of the walls neared Chrono sparked with negative lightning. The spark nearly touched her as she flew close to me. As I looked harder, I realized that she was right; that there's black lightning wildly zapping around and closing in on us. My mind was in wild panic, my eyes were darting all around the place, and my thinking process was in a blur. I stepped back from the oncoming wall, but only to feel a painful shock from behind, as I didn't notice black sparks engulfing me from behind; and suddenly, my body went limp and images filled my head._

_Images filled with everything… Yet… it felt so damn familiar…_

_Death…_

_Fear…_

_Torment…_

_Fires…_

_Screams…_

_Terror…_

_It felt as though my limbs were about to rip off and that my skin was about to fry. Even now with my new composition of a mixed positive and negative energy, it hurts even more than it has. Everything came collapsing inside me and suddenly; the floor shattered, and I was thrown into the fires of memorial hell._

_It was that day… everyone was running… or should I say… all the men and boys were running. Images filled my mind of the burning slums. __Those were what reigned upon the ones in the slums. Many IS's and their pilots were indulged in a killing spree, and their targets were everyone. Well, not generally everyone, but their targets are men. The IS reigned missiles and gunfire down on us. The mothers and girls were safe, but the men and boys were always rallied towards their death by means of cold blood._

_Yes… it feels as though it's all coming back to me… I saw the world, and their countries that came for it… Infinite Stratos… those dreaded tools of destruction… soaring through the sky with death raining on the innocent. It was everywhere, painting the cities with red and black…_

"_Hey, I knew we couldn't trust you…!" A voice was called behind me. The voice felt familiar, but then I turned around. Everything around me turned to light as figures were starting to get more noticeable._

"_You alright?!"_

"_Get out of here, while you still can, Ichi-…!" The voice suddenly cut off with a static sound, as the three figures came to shape, the middle being the tallest; and I couldn't believe whom I saw._

"_**No way… it's the…**__" The two boys in the side I recognized, but the tall middle one was someone I've always looked up to… But when was that? The light cleared up, and I saw three boys, in ragged clothes, with the middle with noticeable blue long hair._

"…_**Yuki?! A-And the Slumdog Gang…?!" **__When I saw their faces clear up, I felt ecstatic. It made me smile a little…Wait… why am I smiling from these memories…? What's making me so surprised about them anyway? I wasn't the one with these…. It was Ichika, and that's how he clamped up and called for me a few days ago. Right? It can't belong to me, right?!_

…_Right…?_

"_Look out, she's got a-!" __**BANG!**_

_The boy on the left was flown back by an unknown force. The scenery cleared up fully and it showed a brick room with red glows from outside. I remembered this scene from peering at Ichika's memory yesterday, so what's up? I turned around to see a green haired girl in an IS, holding a rifle._

"_S-Sanchez! Stop please!" A voice came out of nowhere. I then looked down to see a boy, right in front of me. Is this Ichika…? Something felt peculiar…_

_**BANG!**_

"_Forgive me…" It was the only voice that peeped out of the emotionless girl, and I realized that it was Sanchez from Ichika's memory. The idiot girl fired, and bloodcurdling cries were heard. I turned around and the bullets threw the boys towards the back of the room, their blood staining the floor, the bodies hitting the walls, except for one._

"_Damn you…! We took you in! What are you doing?! This is how you repay back the Slumdog's Honor?!" Yuki cried, trying to get an answer. The look on his face portrayed many things; anger, sadness, betrayal, everything I could think of. Comparing that to this Sanchez's look is... whoa…_

_But my attention wasn't on him; it was on Ichika. I noticed that he went through me, and started to step back to Yuki's care. That's when I stepped back in surprise at his face._

_He has hazel eyes and ragged clothes and… oh my…, but that wasn't all that I was so shocked about. I trembled a little when Yuki put his hand on the boy's shoulder, sort of making him, and surprisingly me, ease my tension a little. _

_But he was so different… Was Ichika always like this…? Did he always have… golden hair…?_

_When I was about to question it, everything turned white and I fell limp. Everything then turned black, as if the white was leaving me, alone and empty. But I heard voices echoing around me… Unfortunately, they were all muffled up and I couldn't make out a word. But a few words stuck out to me in the end as it left my mind, and after a while, it made me clench my fists as I began to open my eyes._

"_Forgive me… Dyne…" My head echoed._

_**Present:**_** 9:35AM, Thursday April 7****th**** 2032, just outside the school…**

**Third Person POV**

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Dyne mindlessly roared again, loud enough to shatter the windows surrounding him, as black electricity sparked wildly around him in a field. The corrupted man then went again for another lunge at the green IS, still bruised and struggling to get up from the multiple blows from before. Sanchez clenched her eyes and held up her claymore for defense, as the golden assailant changed towards her with a backhand white-sparking blade until-

**BZAP!**

The IS and the pilot suddenly paused right when the blade connected with Sanchez's claymore, as if it were stuck in time. Instead of Dyne's face roaring with destruction, it now showed a face of pure shock, and the purple void in his eyes have disappeared. Sanchez looked at Dyne and widened her eyes as the black lightning stopped and melted away as the golden armor shined in the sun. Dyne then collapsed on his knees, panting and Sanchez immediately got up and rushed to the IS pilot.

"Senor Ichika!" Sanchez cried as she approached the golden IS pilot and knelt down in front of him. The panting then ceased and Dyne looked up, seeing the worried green-haired girl in front of him. Instead of him backing away though, he smiled warmly.

"Emilia-san… it's really you…"

**SMASH**

Suddenly, a flash of red came by and tackled Dyne to the side. A blood red blur then turned out to be a crimson red IS, with six arms and two legs. It had two shoulder cannons and jets on its back, shining scarlet. The pilot had matching long hair and a smug smile on her face.

"Daa-da-DAAAAAH~~!" The red-haired pilot cheered to herself, as she was standing proud in front of Sanchez. "Autumn-sensei here to save the day!" Sanchez gave a puzzled look.

"S-Save the day?" She muttered as she cocked her head, but then she twisted her attention to the golden IS struggling to get up. "Ichika!" She cried out to him, but then the red IS dashed towards him in a blur.

"So this is the new boy? Please tell me you're joking!" She told herself in a tone of maniacal flamboyancy as she raised her legs and started to stomp on Dyne's body armor with her mechanical, stiletto-esque feet repeatedly… and with great force.

"Argh…" Dyne softly cried as each stomp crushed the earth below him, creating a tremor and forming cracks. It didn't take long until the 5th stomp that, for the first time and much to Dyne's despair, _Chronos_'s armor started to crack under the sharp heel.

"Hahahaha!" She mockingly laughed at Dyne's struggling face as she twisted her ankle on the cracking armor. "They must've been fools when they invited you in! Such a waste!"

"S-Stop! Stop hurting him!" Sanchez's voice was heard when a flash of green came into view beside the red IS. The green IS pilot then swung her claymore like a bat towards Autumn with much strength, but only to be easily locked in place by her two robotic left arms, grabbing with such ease, which shocked Sanchez. "W-W-Whoa…"

"Now now, you'll get your turn to hurt him!" She smiled sweetly at her. Sanchez struggled to move her claymore towards, and then away from Autumn, but without budging, the redhead held her place.

"Just one more stomp will do!" Her voice had a hint of twisted hilarity as her red mechanical right heel raised up and about to hammer down on Dyne with her most powerful stomp.

**SNATCH**

"E-Enough…" A voice muttered from below.

"Eh?" Both of them looked down to see Dyne struggling with holding up her heel with his arms. Autumn didn't mind what she saw, but Sanchez stepped back as she saw small black sparks forming on his hands.

"_**I SAID ENOUGH!**_" Dyne shouted, sending a large shiver down Sanchez's and Autumn's spine. Black sparks burst out from his hand and lashed out on the scarlet heel and ankle, leaving visible burning scars. Normally, the scars on the IS wouldn't hurt the pilot since they are separate, but now…

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" Autumn widened her eyes and screamed in pain as the black sparks engulfed her shin and foot. She pulled away from the hazard, but now was limping away while her right leg was in burning shambles, showing bruises and tears. Again, Sanchez gave a small yelp and backed off with her claymore as Dyne started to get back upon his feet.

"T-The lightning… Pero… cómo?!" Sanchez was amazed on the lightning sparking on his hands as Dyne fully stood up. His hands were beside him, covered in a dark purplish glow with black sparks zapping out. His chest held a formidable crack, but it wasn't too serious. But what she was amazed specifically was how he was able to make the redhead scream in pain even though there weren't any breaches to the main body frame.

"Y-You… how did you…? You didn't even touch my real one inside the IS… yet it felt like it did…!" Autumn said as she struggled to limp on her right leg. Dyne just gave her a sharp glare with his golden eyes and a snarl to complement. But those eyes suddenly twitched and widened, and the snarl became inaudible. The black lightning then engulfed his whole body and his hands smashed to his head as he raised his head and let out a short ear-piercing scream.

"_**GRRAAAAAAAAUUGGHHH!**_"

The scream lasted for a good two seconds, but the outcry was enough to force Sanchez away and tip over Autumn with her good leg and onto her back.

"Waaahhh!" Sanchez was pushed back by the outburst of Dyne's scream, as she flown a good three meters before she landed on her stomach. The claymore also flew a good four meters and landed on the head as it dug into the earth.

"Oof!" Autumn cried as she landed flat on the boosters on her back. She didn't know what had hit her, but it was certainly powerful. She has never seen an IS… no, a pilot… so powerful since _**[Brunhilde] **_and her superiors. She regained her composure and began to stand up with the help of her six arms and her one left leg, still intact. What she saw when she angled her head straight was Dyne on his knees, shaking and panting, as if he was traumatized or something. His body that held the glow and sparks of black lightning disappeared into the air from the hole in his chest. The hole then began to repair itself like a jigsaw puzzle made of light, and no cracks were present afterwards, perfect enough for anyone to suspect that it has been busted through. 'That… that's some power…' She thought to herself.

**Dyne's POV**

'_**U-Ugh… T-That… that was…**_'

The rage… the hatred… the negativity… all of it within was a lot more than I could absorb within me. Would've been easier… if that redhead didn't get in the way…

"_**Two… Chosens…? One… regression…?**_"

I spoke my only lingering thought as I finally lost my energy to stand. I fell to I clench my fists and teeth like mad, but I held back on fingers and jaw from cutting through my skin. My breath was very short, almost felt like hyperventilation, and my body felt tired all of a sudden. In an instant, I felt no more pain… but small amounts of comfort and calmness as I felt like an aura seeped into my skin. I looked around, but no one was in contact with me. The redhead with the scarred leg was over there, getting up while her IS disappeared in a flash of light, while Sanchez was on her knees with her IS, still in dumbfounded shock on what happened, and that blond woman is about to-

Wait what-?

**KAPWING!**

What the hell…? A chain?

Bounced off by my left hand, I'm glad I sensed that she would whip that thing at me, but who the living hell is she? I gave the impression that she was some tough person sent out to hold me in place, but I stood still in a battle stance as she pulled her arm slightly and brought back the chain to wrap her arm (or… the chain did that by itself… I couldn't tell). She then simply walked up to me and held her hands up.

"Please. We do not mean harm. Stand down." She calmly and monotonously requested of me. Why would she do something like that? She tried to strike me with that jagged chain of hers. (Don't ask me how it doesn't puncture or cut her skin.)

Nevertheless, I just stood there and did nothing but act like a statue. I only gave her a sharp glare to her eyes, telling her to back off. Tension grew between us for a good five seconds. I could think of a billion things that would have happened to me during those good five seconds. One of those things actually happened.

"U-Umm… Ichika…?" A Mexican-accented voice came from the side. I turned around to see the green haired girl again. She stood up in her green IS and started to walk up to me. Trudging… but still a walk. And her name… was Emilia Sanchez… Yes, that was it.

I gave the girl a normal look as she stood a good half-a-meter between each other. Her glance was a worrisome enough. Couldn't look at it for more than a second, but I don't know why. But then, something in my brain gave me a hard tug from what she has done.

"I-Ichika? Estás bien?" Her voice muffled as she grabbed my hand, and at that instant I felt like my head was gonna snap. I grimaced my loudest grimace…

… and everything turned black.

**Third Person POV**

"RRRRRGGGGHHHH!" In the instant they made contact, Dyne felt a short sharp pain intensifying by the moment. He put both his hands over his face as he tried to suppress a yell. He had already conjured up enough attention.

"Ahh! Ichika!" Sanchez gasped as she let go and brought her hand up to her mouth, nearly covering it. Autumn, who has just recently got back up and walked close to the young man due to the presence of Meusel, brought herself into a stance, where she was about to summon her IS. Squall just stood there, but she has taken a step backwards due to caution.

Light engulfed the IS as it disappeared right after Dyne stopped with the grimace, and a surprising aspect happened that made all three females be even more than surprised.

"Huh? Is that you… Sanchez-san?"

An unfamiliar voice came out of the hands as they were removed from his face. But the voice wasn't the voice they ever heard before. It was… gentle... much more gentler than the old one.

"U-Uhh, I-Ichika?!" Sanchez stuttered his name in what little voice was left within her. She was, in fact, stunned, and she didn't know why. The face revealed a gentle sight, with a stunned yet smiling Dyne staring up into her eyes.

"I-It's you! It really is you!" Dyne was ecstatic as he clasped his hands over Sanchez's IS gauntlets. It was like he was a completely different person. "How long has it been since we've seen each other?!" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah it has been long time since we have seen each other, Ichika!" Sanchez replied with her smile on her face as her IS dissolved in a green light, but also with a mix of discomfort. She never has seen him so… happy before. Dyne then turned his body around to see Autumn and Squall, now shocked by the change of demeanor.

'H-His… his eye colour…' Squall thought as she widened her eyes and stared in his eyes. Apparently, getting lost in them caused her to be hit with all sorts of unknown feelings. Dyne's eyes weren't sharp, deadly golden eyes as she saw them the first time. They were a mix of auburn and glowing hazel color; enough to have those feelings intensify and hit Squall like a truck. Autumn, on the other hand, wasn't as shocked as Squall and didn't faze her one bit. However, she did look at Squall's flustered face, thus creating a hostile and envious look towards Dyne.

"H-Hey you! What are you trying to pull on my Meusel-dono?!" Autumn snapped at Dyne as she quickly moved her arm between Dyne and Squall. Dyne's face turned from cheery to quick surprised panic, as did Squall's face, as they saw Autumn summon her IS arm and, what looks like, a hand-axe in the grip of the gauntlet. "I don't know what spell you've casted on her, but you, of all people, better stop looking at her like that, you disgusting pi-!"

**WHAM!**

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH…!"

**CRASH!**

A simple, but lightning-fast hook from Squall sent Autumn straight through the wall. Some yelps and screams were heard as the woman was launched into the hallway. Dyne and Sanchez were speechless for a moment at the amount of strength Squall used in the punch against Autumn's stomach.

'Much more stronger than Chifuyu-nee…' Dyne thought. Right after he said that thought, he cringed a little from pain exerting from his head. It only went by in a flash, but a voice echoed within him.

_**NO! She's… isn't…! **_

Squall then turned around to face Dyne, now relieved of all the pain, and she was smiling all warmly.

"So… Ichika-san, shall we go to your new class?"

"Uhh umm… Sure!" Dyne, eyeing the dust cloud from afar for a second, hesitated, but went with it anyway, as he walked alongside the teacher through the open hole on the wall.

"U-Uh wait! What about me?" Sanchez called to them as they stopped in their tracks.

"Oh right, the other new kid. Hurry up then!" Squall sounded a lot less warm from that line, almost as if she didn't care for the Mexican girl. Dyne only gave a small look to Sanchez, but a small smile for her to go with it, as he walked off with Squall.

_**Meanwhile:**_** 9:45AM, Thursday, April 7****th****, 2032, in the unknown realm…**

"_**URRAAAAGGHH! That idiot!**_" The clear barriers… or were they black barriers before, no one could tell… closed in on us and held tight around the tower's exterior. The floor before the rooftop glowed a moonlight warmth, but the glow, or the banging didn't calm the beast, but his violence hasn't even gotten anywhere. The man kept banging the walls at one of the windows as the barrier's unbreakable coating also blocked the rooftop. Every fist he landed through a large open window and towards the barrier would send waves of force repelling backwards and knocking around the interior of the tower. But the banging didn't stop, and Dyne wasn't planning to stop. "_**Ichika! Open back up! I swear to God if you don't…!**_" The man called (more of a scream than a call, perhaps) as he kept punching the barrier to no end.

"_M-Master Dyne! What's wrong?!"_ Chrono called, hoping to get an answer from Dyne and have him stop punching. He indeed stops punching and was huffing like a bull, but he turned around and Chrono pulled back that thought. His eyes were sharper, menacing and filled with bloody rage, even more so than the previous times he has been enraged like this. His eyes glowed a scarlet red instead of a golden sheen, and blood dripped from his knuckles and palms.

"_**It's nothing, Chrono!**_" He simply snapped back at Chrono, having her develop a frightened expression from his face, but not a terrified look.

"_E-Err ummm… Well…you're…"_

"_**I TOLD YOU! It's nothing!**_" He swapped his attention back to punching the unbreakable barrier. Chrono felt even more worried this time, but hesitated. After Dyne punched enough to send him huffing with bleeding arms, she tried to catch his attention again.

"_But-…" She trembled._

"_**CHRONO! CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP?!**_" He turned around again, seeing her in a really irritated state. His loud voice echoed through the tower's interior as it shook by its presence.

Afterwards was complete silence. His booming voice echoed into the far corners until nothing else was heard except for Dyne's huffing. Chrono only stared with wide eyes and complete shock. Never before did she felt like a burden to her master. It was only a matter of time before he calmed and turned back to the barrier to give it one last look, and that she stopped trembling.

"_**Ugh… useless…**_" A voice seethed out from his gritting teeth as he turned back and he just flopped down onto his bottom and huffed, finally having the entire fist-banging maneuver take a toll on his body. His body trembled from the recoil and his muscles twitched madly as he made no expression to show it. "_**You shouldn't worry about me, Chrono. I'll get out of this place.**_" He expressed shaking. This only aggravated Chrono.

"_Please, Master Dyne… Tell me what's wrong… please?"_

"_**I…well…**_" Dyne only gave an unsure look.

"_Please… why can't you be open to me…?" Chrono pleaded._

"_**Y-You wouldn't understand…**_"

"_Then try me!"_ Chrono said, determined to get the answer out.

"_**Hmph…**_" Dyne just looked away and crossed his arms. He had the look of despite on his face. After a minute of silence, he finally spoke. "_**I'm so much more powerful than him… What is he…?**_"

"_Huh? You mean…"_

"_**Yeah…**_" Dyne replied with a sigh as he closed his eyes, and relayed on the words that entered his mind from before. "_** I mean Ichika.**_"

_**[Ancient Will of the Gods], The Chronos Prophecy Decipher and Study; Spectra of Time:**_

_**Report #3:**_

_**You know, humans are complicated to understand. From what I said in the last report, they are care about their own greed and wealth. Those feelings were understood when I lived with my family, and those weren't the most pleasant family memories in the scrapbook. But let's not get too hasty for a minute.**_

_[Complete Karmic Equilibrium]__**… it is quite a baffling process indeed. It involves the transfer of memories and habits of the very souls between the two Chosens, in order to become the bringers of judgment. Chronos has specifically designed humans to work in harmony, and since two humans chosen from Chronos himself to bring judgment to the world are more powerful than one, it is almost impossible for such a fused creation gifted with Chronos's power to lose, as the Scriptures say. Maybe the biggest obstacle that obstructs the path of the Chosens' destiny … is mankind itself. Don't believe me? Let's refer back to the past.**_

_**Now, hypotheses of failures have been deducted when the past Chosens have failed over the past millenniums. Some were from the tension and imbalance, caused by mankind, between the souls and their karmic apparitions. Other times were when mankind forcefully removed the negative and/or positive soul energy that resides in the active souls in a very gruesome way.**_

_**But the worst hypothesis deducted by me… or perhaps, I had known… is that the Chosens cannot coordinate and control the **__[Complete Karmic Equilibruim] __**with each other and they simply follow their separate ways and habits. One of the Chosen's soul and personality becomes more dominant and has complete control over the body, rather than the other Chosen that has begun regressing. Such creates more tension and even hatred between the two halves, and the balance would break, eventually having fate decide their course as mistaken Chosens who are not ready. It was a cruel fate and a dire consequence when I witnessed them… It scares me a little… I just pray the two Chosens left in this world can complete it…**_

"_S-So… you two are Chosens?"_ Chrono was laid beside Dyne, feeling a lot more comfortable around him.

"_**I think that's already established, Chrono.**_" Dyne nodded, still being expressionless.

"_And that process we did before this morning… the __**[Complete Karmic Equilibruim]**_…_ didn't you and Ichika…?"_

"_**Don't remind me please…**_" Dyne's face blacked in the shadows of the dark sky as he brought his knees together and hugged them close.

"_I-I didn't mean…"_

"_**JUST GO!**_" Chrono tried to take it back, but it already seeped into Dyne's head, making him rebuke. There was silence between them for a while, until Chrono turned and left without a word or noise. Dyne didn't want anything to do with her at the moment, as he pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged them. He didn't want to remember the time from before, but it was inevitable. He closed his eyes, trying his best to forget and ignore everything around him.

But then something came to mind as... something that would have set him off. The destroyed interior, the shattered stain-glass windows, and the shaken ceiling dust that covered the chairs were indicators, but that wasn't it. The frustration of not getting to Ichika through the barrier wasn't the instigator of what came to mind.

It was that Dyne's hands were shaking.

Dyne looked at his hands, speechless. He never saw his hands trembling at the sight before him. '_**W-What the…?!**_' The golden-haired man stammered as his fingers were twitching slightly, and before he knew it, the room grew cold and empty. Dyne started to shiver and his breath quickened, as he hugged his knees even tighter than before. Soon, his entire body grew cold and it started to tremble and shiver. His breath rose to the state of hyperventilation and his eyes widened its white areas, as he realized what it was that's making him this way. He doesn't know why, but he knew it was wrong, yet it felt so right.

It was fear.

_**Present**_**: 9:55AM, Thursday, April 7****th****, 2032, in class 1-2…**

**Ichika's POV**

"U-Uhhhh…" W-Whoa, I may have expected nervousness, but not at this exponential amount…!

I remained silent out of fear as all eyes were on me, but not like Class 1-1 as I was being the attention getter. This time… I felt like the predator's prey. Everyone's eyes were locked on me as if I was someone who wasn't needed. I looked around, as the room was more in a darker paintjob and the atmosphere was tenser than what I remember. A-And the students, th-they're… glaring at me… Their eyes look like hawks… I felt like being pecked on… Grrrr… if looks could kill…

Okay… Gotta calm down…

Got to calm down…

Got… to calm… down…

"Umm, Orimura…?"

"GWAAAAAAHHH!" I blurted out of surprise as I looked back at Meusel-sensei. I shot back a widen-eyed look from fear, as she was surprising smiling at me. It came as a bit of a surprise for the other black-striped uniformed students, even though they didn't show it. (Did I ever mention that they had a black stripe across their school uniforms? Yeah, that's what frightens me the most, oddly enough.) I shook my head and stepped forward in front of the class, where the deadly gazes are ripping me a new one. I tried to focus and say my line.

"M-My name i-is Ichika O-Orimura… and I hope that we can be friends… although I have a feeling you won't do such a thing… Ehehe…" I nervously laughed and scratched my head. The intro came out of left field and I quietly awaited my doom…

* * *

**My God... my fingers hurt and I'm soooo tired... But it was WORTH IT! Sorta...**

**I like to thank all the people who has reviewed this story! It gives me the motivation to keep going, but favourites and followers work too (although not as much :/) Anyway, please read and review~ I wish to get critical feedback from y'all ;)**

**EDIT: Hey guys, I'm back. The reason why I was late on making this is because I'm in the process of making another fanfic ;). I'll givey ou guys a hint on what it is:**

_**It's all in the cards...**_

_**Got it?**_


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